Yankees: 3 players NYY should consider taking off roster with decisions looming

Thairo Estrada #90 of the New York Yankees in action (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Thairo Estrada #90 of the New York Yankees in action (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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MLB rosters will shrink to 28 players and the Yankees won’t have an easy task.

This coming Thursday, Major League Baseball (for some reason) decided to mandate that rosters decrease from 30 to 28. That’s some sound, logical thinking, especially because teams across the league definitely don’t need more reinforcements amid a global pandemic and uncertainty around every corner. The Yankees are totally locked in, for sure for sure.

But such is life with commissioner Rob Manfred running the show, and we’ll just have to deal. For the New York Yankees, who have one of the deepest rosters in the league, they won’t have an easy decision to make, given their formidable depth.

We could see two of these three guys gone in the next few days once manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman figure it out.

David Hale #75 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
David Hale #75 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) /

3. David Hale

The Yankees’ stacked bullpen makes David Hale expendable.

New York’s bullpen is especially deep with right-handers, and while Hale isn’t bad at all, he’s probably the least effective one. He only appeared in 20 games last year (and just 93 since debuting in 2013), so it’s not like he’s heavily used to the point where Boone would have to find a new innings-eater or workhorse.

Though he’s appeared in three games already this year (and even recorded a save against the Red Sox!), young guys like Michael King and Nick Nelson have already been used just as much (if not more) and we fully know Chad Green, Jonathan Holder and Jonathan Loaisiga are much more valued.

If any right-hander is getting taken off the roster, it’s probably going to be the 32-year-old Hale.

Thairo Estrada #71 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Thairo Estrada #71 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

2. Thairo Estrada

Yankees fans won’t like this, but there’s not much of a need for Thairo Estrada.

If you’re not playing him, don’t waste a roster spot on him. Yankees fans would absolutely love to see Estrada getting more reps and showing off his all-around skills, but he’s gotten just one at-bat so far in the team’s first eight games. We’re just going to sit him on the bench and not keep another pitcher on hand?

Not only that, but it’s clear Boone prefers Tyler Wade, who plays the same role as Estrada. Two of the same guy on a roster with limited space? We’re not sure that’s a smart idea.

Plus, Estrada likely only made his MLB debut last year because of the record-setting amount of injuries the Yankees suffered. If this team is at full strength, there really isn’t much room for any young players at the moment, especially in a 60-game sprint.

Don’t blame us — we don’t want this to happen, everyone was thrilled when he made the roster! But if he’s not playing, he can’t be here. It’s a shame there’s no minor league season because it’s really putting a strain on a lot of guys.

Luis Avilan (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Luis Avilan (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

1. Luis Avilan

He has value as a lefty, but Luis Avilan is hardly a mainstay in the Yankees bullpen.

Though the Yankees signed Avilan in January before they knew the pandemic was going to upend everything, the former Mets reliever had the worst season of his career during his lone 2019 campaign in Queens. In 45 games, he owned a 5.06 ERA and 1.47 WHIP, which is pretty much worse than every Yankees reliever.

When push comes to shove and you have to cut ties with a pitcher, it simply has to be the guy who’s only been with the team for months. Plus, Nick Nelson’s emergence suggests he could be among the arms stepping in for Tommy Kahnle, who will miss the year because of Tommy John surgery.

Avilan does possess value as a lefty, but with the three-batter minimum enacted for 2020, the Yankees don’t have a desperate need. Their two best relievers — Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman — are lefties. If Boone really needed to, he could deploy Britton a tad earlier in the game.

This is an obvious one.

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