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

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.

Yankees: What does Tommy Kahnle’s future with NYY look like after surgery?

The New York Yankees lost Tommy Kahnle on Saturday after it was announced he'd undergo Tommy John surgery with a torn UCL.