They still don’t have much right-handed balance in their lineup, especially with Chris Young gone. Looking for positions of need: Not only do the Yankees still have some Rule 5 candidates to consider for roster spots, but more importantly, they have some big league positions of need. There’s also Tony Renda (a solid second baseman who might not have the versatility to win a big league bench job) and Rookie Davis (an emerging starter who had a good 2015 and could, in a best-case scenario, stick as a big league long man). The list of Rule 5 eligible prospects ranges from Triple-A standouts who went unselected in last year’s Rule 5 (Ben Gamel, Johnny Barbato) to less proven guys who might not be quite big league ready but do carry higher prospect status (Miguel Andujar, Jake Cave). Looking ahead to the Rule 5: One reason the Yankees don’t seem to have enough open 40-man spots is that in a little more than two weeks, they’ll have to make their Rule 5 protection decisions. Those might be places to start when looking to make trades both minor and significant. As has been mentioned many times, the Yankees are also deep in left-handed outfielders and potential starting pitchers. Looking for redundancy: Carrying four catchers on the 40-man roster is more than the Yankees absolutely need (though it’s really only three considering one of them is out of options and doesn’t really have a big league role to play), and obviously they’re carrying quite a few relievers who haven’t proven much of anything at this point (though almost all of them have some legitimate prospect status). Jose Pirela? Branden Pinder? Try to release Domingo German and re-sign him like the Yankees did last year with Vicente Campos and Slade Heathcott? Beyond that, cutting ties gets a little tricky. My guess is Caleb Cotham, as a fairly overshadowed reliever, is also a DFA possibility despite really putting himself on the radar this season. Austin Romine is out of options and stands out as an obvious DFA or non-tender candidate. One way or another, it seems inevitable the Yankees are going to have to create more room either for free agents or for prospects worth protecting. Looking to clear more room: Surely one open roster spot isn’t going to be enough this offseason. At this point, the Yankees have 39 players on their 40-man roster. With their start-of-the-offseason housecleaning basically complete, the Yankees have cleared some of the excess from their 40-man roster and made their early decisions on player options.
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