Yankees insiders hint young infielder surprisingly falling off Opening Day roster

All spring long, we've been considering the Yankees' roster in terms of which right-handed bats they might be able to obtain to finish off the bench behind Oswaldo Cabrera/Oswald Peraza. As it turns out, we might've made some incorrect assumptions along the way.

For a few weeks, it appeared a moderately hot Dominic Smith might claim the final Opening Day roster spot, and could even start at DH; a Ben Rice hot streak put an end to that chatter, though, as Smith opted out of his deal late last week.

At that point, it seemed like Pablo Reyes would sneak onto the roster as an infield backup, unless the Yankees were able to find a right-handed (outfield?) bat externally at the very last second. We're still reeling from Everson Pereira's demotion in this department, if we're being honest.

As of this past weekend, though, the Yankees' brass was singing a seemingly altered tune. Yes, Reyes is firmly in the mix for a roster spot. Yes, they're still chasing an additional bench right-hander. But Reyes sure seems to have moved past Peraza on the depth chart, and a Cabrera/Peraza platoon seems less than likely all of a sudden, even as the clock ticks perilously towards zero.

The Yankees will either add Peraza to their Opening Day roster begrudgingly, find a last-second trade partner, or lose him for nothing. The third option seems unappealing, but the first one now seems unlikely.

Yankees trending towards letting Oswald Peraza go, bringing Pablo Reyes to the Bronx on Opening Day roster

Peraza, in need of a strong exclamation point in order to undo two years of post-Volpe battle loss regression, has instead hit .174 with a .465 OPS in 46 at-bats this spring. He's been given every chance to make an impression, and just has not done so, struggling more as camp has progressed.

Reyes may not have Top 100 prospect upside, but at the very least, the Yankees know they'll be getting an MLB-caliber contributor if they break camp with him on the team. Peraza, after struggling to find his rhythm at Triple-A after losing the Opening Day shortstop job two years ago, doesn't come with a similar guarantee.

The Yankees are short on alternatives, though, so there remains a chance that Peraza gets a begrudging seal of approval.

Still, with three days to go until Milwaukee comes to town, it seems the Yankees' bench will either be: Trent Grisham, JC Escarra, Oswald Peraza, Pablo Reyes or Trent Grisham, JC Escarra, Pablo Reyes, Someone Who's Currently in Limbo on Another Team.

Is it fair to say we miss Dom Smith already and wish he could hit right-handed?