Yankees: Lucas Luetge may have solidified his roster spot on Wednesday
![Mar 14, 2021; Dunedin, Florida, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Lucas Luetge (63) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fyanksgoyard-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fimagn-images-2F2021-2F03-2F15729629-850x560-7885e57d073cb2e51baeae48924be012.jpg)
The New York Yankees are continuing to roll during spring training and Opening Day truly cannot come soon enough.
Seriously, we want — no, we NEED — to know who will be on the roster when April 1 arrives.
For all those antsy Yankees fans out there, we may have gotten one more solidified answer on Wednesday.
The Bombers rolled to their seventh straight win in a 1-0 triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays, and none other that Lucas Luetge was called upon to shut the door.
And he did it again! The man cannot be stopped during spring training. Luetge is now up to 7.1 scoreless innings and 15 strikeouts.
Wednesday, however, marked his first save, and though it didn’t come against any notable hitters, he proved that he could still get the job done in high-leverage situations.
Lucas Luetge ends this game with a strikeout on a gorgeous breaking ball. It’s his 13th K of the spring. #Yankees win 1-0. pic.twitter.com/gYFdsEq6qO
— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) March 17, 2021
Does Lucas Luetge have the inside track on a Yankees roster spot?
In case you were wondering who was going to grab Zack Britton’s roster spot, we can safely assume it’ll be Luetge, even though he missed all of 2018 and 2020 and hasn’t appeared in Major League Baseball since 2015.
FanGraphs’ initial roster projection earlier this spring had Tyler Lyons coming north with the Bombers for Opening Day, but there’s hardly a case for that. Everyone thought Adam Warren was going to claim a job for a hot second, but shoulder soreness has put him on the shelf for the time being. And Michael King just simply hasn’t done enough to earn one.
Maybe there’s a world in which the Yankees go with Kyle Barraclough or Nick Goody, both of whom have rebounded nicely as of late, but this feels like it’s Luetge’s to lose. He has the whole lefty thing going for him, which is something the Yankees will need during Britton’s absence.
https://twitter.com/TalkinYanks/status/1372278327650742274?s=20
On what planet does someone performing this well not get the nod? The only plausible reasons that could keep Luetge off the Opening Day roster are that the Yankees might want to lean on someone with more experience — or if they prefer to roll with a six-man starting rotation, which would mean Deivi Garcia would take the spot.
Most fans wouldn’t necessarily argue with either of those potential scenarios, but why not bring the positive vibes to the Bronx with this feel-good story? Let’s make 2021 special in every manner possible.