Yankees: Surprising Opening Day Roster Move Will No Doubt Disappoint NYY Fans

It’s safe to say nobody expected the Yankees’ Opening Day roster to be without this key player.

Raise your hand if you saw this coming, because we didn’t, especially with the need for more pitchers due to the absence of Domingo German for the entire regular season and Masahiro Tanaka for at least the next week.

While New York Yankees fans got good news in the form of pitcher Michael King making the Opening Day roster, everyone was dealt a blow when they found out top prospect Clarke Schmidt would be getting the boot.

This isn’t to take away from King’s tremendous accomplishment. He’s been wildly impressive and fans cannot wait to see him take on MLB competition … it’s just that everyone really wanted to see what Schmidt could do after his intrasquad outings.

Deivi Garcia getting optioned isn’t surprising at all considering he failed to get the job done with his last chance on Monday night against the Phillies. The young right-hander isn’t ready, and that’s totally OK. He’s only 21 years old and has plenty of things to further polish.

But Schmidt? He was unbelievable despite only making it as far as Double-A. It’s almost like he thrived with the added pressure and bigger spotlight, making some of the Yankees’ star sluggers look foolish with his nasty arsenal of pitches.

This news comes shortly after the Yankees announced Schmidt had won the James P. Dawson Award for most outstanding rookie in Spring Training.

One would’ve thought Schmidt’s value for the beginning of the season was unquestioned, considering the Yankees are down Tanaka, and have guys like Jonathan Loaisiga and Luis Cessa, who still need to get up to speed with five road games against the Nationals and Phillies coming up.

While this is a bummer, there’s no doubt the young right-hander will make an appearance for the Bombers at some point in 2020. He’s earned it and proved he belongs. It’s only a matter of time.