A Deep Roster Dive

by James Vlietstra

February 22, 2024

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In a typical year, there are roughly 12 to 15 players turned over out of the 40-man roster. Last August 14, I wrote an article (https://www.startspreadingthenews.blog/post/making-the-24-40-man-roster) that suggested that we could see 25 players (out of 49, due to injuries) removed. Well, as of February 17, there was exactly 24 players remaining on the 40-man, meaning 25 have been removed. 

That number Is inflated a bit due to injuries and the fact that some place holders were known to be temporary. Regardless, as pitchers and catchers have reported, I don’t think many fans realize just how much turnover to the roster there has been. 

The following seven players combined to provide 33 innings pitched or 31 at bats for the 2023 Yankees: Jasson Dominguez, Scott Effross, Luis Gil, Yoendrys Gomez, Jonathan Loasiga, and Luke Weaver. Injuries really ravaged the team. 

There are 14 players that are new to the roster for 2024. The following eight combined for 14.2 innings pitched and 61 at bats at the Major League level in 2023: Clayton Andrews, Clayton Beeter, Jordan Groshans, McKinley Moore, Cody Morris, Carlos Narvaez, Cody Poteet, and Jorbit Vivas. 

Marcus Stroman was brought in as a free agent to be a third or fourth starter, looking to improve upon his 77-76 career record. Caleb Ferguson and Victor Gonzalez are both left-handed relievers that were in the Dodgers' bullpen last season. The biggest moves that the Yankees made were the trades that brought them Juan Soto and Trent Grisham and the trade for Alex Verdugo. 

Clearly the overall roster is a lot younger and hopefully more flexible. Last year’s biggest weakness was their offense. With the addition of Soto, the Yankees have addressed the problem. However, in doing so, they vastly reduced their pitching depth. They are counting on a return to 2022 form from Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon. They will probably also need substantial innings from some of their new roster members. 

Health was also a major concert last year, with 2,158 missed games, according to USA Today. The team has already added three players to the 60-day IL: Dominguez, Effross, and Trivino will all miss the first two months of the season. They are all continuing to comeback from injuries that cost them the end of last year. 

There’s been several changes in recent years to the baseball calendar. I’m not exactly sure how these changes will affect Rule 5 eligibility and minor league free agency yet. These changes include the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season, the start of the international signing period changing from July 2nd to January 15th, the Rule 4 June amateur draft taking place in August, and the Arizona and Florida Complex Leagues scheduled to be completed before the draft commences. 

The Yankees have over 80 Rule 5 eligible prospects in their system. These are usually the players that Brian Cashman usually tries to promote or trade at the deadline so that they aren’t lost for nothing. Some of the bigger names on this year’s list include Edgar Barclay, Brendan Beck, Anthony Hall, Justin Lange, Zach Messinger, Ben Rice, Montana Semmel, Jared Serna, Alexander Vargas, and Trystin Vrieling. 

Another new rule that begins this year and has already caused several players to be released is the domestic minor league roster cap. During the offseason the limit is 175. In season, the number drops to 165. This leaves some questions:

Do less players get promoted from the DSL?

Will 25 players get released at the end of the FCL season just in time for the draft?

Will there be less value in AAAA players sticking around in case of injury instead of a more valuable prospect?

Will independent ball become a viable location to try to further a career?

Will catchers like Josh Breaux and Anthony Seigler get cut after the spring training need is over especially because they are behind Wells, Trevino, Rortvedt, Narvaez, Ramirez, and Rice on the depth chart and they have several good prospects ready to advance?

Another important factor for determining the flexibility of a roster for this year and future ones is the the number of waiver options their players have. As a business, sometimes a team will send a player to the minors in order to not lose another player for nothing. 

These are the amount of options available for players on the Yankees roster:

Grisham-3

Poteet-3

Beeter-3

Narvaez-3

A. Ramirez-3

Volpe-3

Wells-3

Dominguez-3

Effross-3 (Injury rehab does not count as an option)

Cortes-2

Andrew-2

Cabrera-2

Groshans-2

Moore-2

Morris-2

Trevino-1

Clarke-1

Gonzalez-1

Gil-1

Hamilton-1

Marinaccio-1

Pereira-1

N. Ramirez-1

Vivas-1

Rortvedt-0

Peraza-0

Y. Gomez-0

All of these questions that this all brings up will be answered in due time. But for now, sit back and enjoy the daily updates as our long winter is finally wrapping up and games will start before you know it.