Yankees: 3 players who could surprisingly not make Opening Day roster

Spring training games start Sunday. Baseball is here! There will not be another Sunday until October in which we won’t see a baseball game — barring any unforeseen issues/setbacks with the current global pandemic.

That means we will be fully glued to the New York Yankees between now and (hopefully) November. We need it. It’s everything we’re hoping for.

But as Yankees fans know, there isn’t a single season devoid of drama, whether it’s injuries, off-the-field issues, roster controversies, trade rumors, etc. The list goes on and on. And we could have our earliest drama (this is an optimistic timeline) at the end of spring training when the Bombers decide upon their 26-man roster.

Why? Because they brought in a lot of guys to compete over the next month and you know there will be a few position battles that don’t go in favor of some current Yankees.

Let’s take a look at who could surprisingly be left off the Opening Day roster.

Here are three surprise decisions the Yankees might make this spring.

3. Tyler Wade

Tyler Wade‘s value comes on the defensive side of the ball, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Gleyber Torres, but the 26-year-old has now had four seasons to prove something with his bat and … he’s got a .190 average to show for it.

Don’t you think there’s some truth to the Yankees bringing in Derek Dietrich this spring to put some heat on Wade? Dietrich doesn’t play short, but he’s a power lefty bat who can effectively play first, second, third and the corner outfield spots.

Wade getting pushed off the roster is easily the least likely outcome out of all of these because the Yankees need someone to play shortstop in the event Torres gets hurt, needs a day off, or is downright bad, but don’t you think they can make do by giving Thairo Estrada the nod if they absolutely need to at some point in 2021?

We’re not saying that’s the answer, we’re just saying that the front office might value Dietrich’s versatility and power more than Wade’s middle infield defense and non-existent bat.

Again, unlikely, but the beginning of the writing could be on the wall if he has a bad spring.

1. Domingo German

Did we really surprise you here? We hope not. Domingo German has not handled his “situation” well at all. He hasn’t pitched since September of 2019 after being placed on administrative leave and subsequently suspended for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy.

He finally addressed his teammates this week and “apologized” when also finally facing the media for the first time in 17 months. He didn’t mention his girlfriend — the alleged victim in the incident — at all. He apologized to the Yankees, his teammates, Boone, Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner. Quite literally the last group of people that deserve an apology.

To make matters worse? He read from a piece of paper the entire time and showed zero emotion. Not a shred of remorse in his voice.

On top of being on thin ice because of this and being called out by his teammates, German isn’t exactly what you’d call “good.” He’s pitched in 55 career games since debuting in 2017 and delivered a somewhat promising 2019 campaign before his behavior shelved him.

He’ll be looking to grab the No. 5 spot in the rotation, but during a Q&A on Friday, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic surmised that Deivi Garcia could earn that job and that Jhoulys Chacin “has been mentioned a few times,” perhaps in rumblings about the competition.

There’s already a ton of baggage tied to German. If his play during the spring can’t justify the Yankees keeping him on board, he could easily be let go, traded or optioned, and we’d certainly characterize it as an unsurprising surprise.

Yankees: 3 non-roster invitees who could make the 2021 roster

The New York Yankees have a few hangers-on below their 40-man roster who could easily make the team out of spring training.