I’m Chillin’
I wrote this over at another board:
In that senerio, the Yankees lose:
Sheffield
Craig Wilson
Cory Lidle
Octavio Dotel
Ron Villone
Tanyon Sturze
Bernie Williams
Miguel Cairo
Aaron SmallOutside of that, the Yanks have potentially one arbitration case (Aaron Guiel, who probably would get nontendered if he’s eligible).
So the 25 man roster would tentatively look like this (leaving off Sheffield and assuming the option on Wright gets picked up and Pavano doesn’t drive into a tree suffer a setback in rehab):
CATCHERS
Jorge PosadaINFIELDERS
Andy Phillips
Jason Giambi
Robinson Cano
Alex Rodriguez
Derek JeterOUTFIELDERS
Melky Cabrera
Johnny Damon
Bobby Abreu
Hideki MatsuiSTARTERS
Randy Johnson
Chien-Ming Wang
Mike Mussina
Carl Pavano
Jaret WrightRELIEVERS
Mariano Rivera
Scott Proctor
Kyle Farnsworth
Mike MyersWith six slots to fill, the Yankees need a backup catcher and at least two more bullpen guys (maybe three or even four if Pavano and Wright are in the rotation). From there you have one to three more filler slots for position players — Torre loves his backup middle infielders, so one in there, a righthanded hitter who can play outfield, and maybe a fulltime first baseman who is good defensively so that Giambi can stay at DH? Otherwise you have Giambi on first and a rotating outfield with Cabrara giving Damon/Matsui/Abreu a rest.
Of course, with Pavano pencilled in the roster and in the rotation, there’s no guarantee there, so starting pitching will have to get looked at whether they go the Matsuzaka route or not. What’s Sean Casey going to go for on the market? Casey seems like the kind of player the Yankee clubhouse could use.
So the Yankees pitching at this point looks like this:
- Starters: Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina, Randy Johnson
- Relievers: Mariano Rivera, Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnsworth, Mike Myers
- Jeff Karstens, Brian Bruney, Chris Britton, Humberto Sanchez, Darrell Rasner, T.J. Beam, Jose Veras, J. Brent Cox, Carl Pavano, Tyler Clippard, Philip Hughes
44 at the end of) and Mike Mussina no spring chicken