NY 40 man roster 2023-24

[jon abbey]

OK, usually I start this before the trade deadline so I can better get a sense of what kind of 40 man crush Cashman will be facing, but this year I couldn't motivate. NY did virtually nothing at the deadline though and have now started moving prospects up, so I want to get an idea of just how much space they might have.

Let's start with Mike Axisa's Rule 5 eligible list from July 20:

================

Here are their notable minor leaguers eligible for the Rule 5 Draft after this season (asterisk indicates the player will be a minor league free agent, not just Rule 5 Draft eligible):

• Catchers: Josh Breaux, Antonio Gomez, Carlos Narvaez*, Austin Wells
• Infielders: Andrés Chaparro*, Jared Serna, Alex Vargas
• Outfielders: Jasson Domínguez, Elijah Dunham, Estevan Florial*
• Righties: Clayton Beeter, Carson Coleman, Matt Sauer, Mitch Spence
• Lefties: Edgar Barclay

================

What's crazy is that in the three weeks since he made that list, Agustin Ramirez has gone from 0 percent to be protected (not even listed above) to maybe a 60-70 percent chance after being promoted again today, to AA.

So I'm going to say NY will protect:

Austin Wells
Agustin Ramirez
Jasson Dominguez
Estevan Florial
Clayton Beeter
Edgar Barclay

C (4): 2 of Trevino/Higgy/Rortvedt, Wells, Ramirez
IF (6): Rizzo, Torres, Volpe, LeMahieu, Peraza, Cabrera
OF (7): Judge, Stanton, McKinney, Bauers, Pereira, Florial, Dominguez

SP (9): Cole, Rodon, Cortes, Schmidt, German, Vasquez, Brito, Beeter, Gomez
RP (13): Holmes, Loaisiga, King, Kahnle, Hamilton, Marinaccio, Gil, Weissert, Cordero, Abreu, Effross, Trivino, Barclay

OK, that's 39, including German and Cordero and who knows what happens there. Anyway, that's a good first try, I think, will revisit down the road.

 

[natpastime162]

I’m missing something somewhere. It doesn’t matter/is irrelevant, but what makes Jasson Dominguez Rule 5 eligible if he’s not put on the 40-man?

 

[simplicio]

I’m missing something somewhere. It doesn’t matter/is irrelevant, but what makes Jasson Dominguez Rule 5 eligible if he’s not put on the 40-man?

He was 16 when he signed in July 2019 and this is his fifth Rule 5 draft.

Players are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft if they are not on their major league organization's 40-man roster and:

• were 18 or younger on the June 5 preceding their signing and this is the fifth Rule 5 draft upcoming; or
• were 19 or older on the June 5 preceding their signing and this is the fourth Rule 5 draft upcoming.

 

[jon abbey]

A month later and three of the six guys I expected protected are up:

"Austin Wells
Agustin Ramirez
Jasson Dominguez
Estevan Florial
Clayton Beeter
Edgar Barclay"

Ramirez, Beeter and probably Barclay are all still on track to be protected, also Will Warren deserves a few starts down the stretch and I think NY has plenty of 40 man space as detailed above. He does not need to be protected this winter but he has pitched great recently in the crazy offense IL and is maybe the only real NY SP prospect in AA or AAA who is not shut down or close because they've hit innings limits (a good thing!). Fitts, Beeter, Thorpe, Hampton, all should get a good look in the spring but give Warren a few starts now. Since Cashman quit a month ago and they hired Cashman, this new guy is all about youth and aggressively moving forward, so let's see it again and free Will Warren.

Thank you for your attention to this situation,
Jon

 

[jon abbey]

NY released some guys (thankfully) I thought they might keep on the 40 man, so let's update this. My August attempt at this above was:

C (4): 2 of Trevino/Higgy/Rortvedt, Wells, Ramirez
IF (6): Rizzo, Torres, Volpe, LeMahieu, Peraza, Cabrera
OF (7): Judge, Stanton, McKinney, Bauers, Pereira, Florial, Dominguez

SP (9): Cole, Rodon, Cortes, Schmidt, German, Vasquez, Brito, Beeter, Gomez
RP (13): Holmes, Loaisiga, King, Kahnle, Hamilton, Marinaccio, Gil, Weissert, Cordero, Abreu, Effross, Trivino, Barclay

--------------------------------------------------------------

McKinney, German, and Cordero all were outrighted today, so that takes the above list to 36. They have six catchers potentially worth protecting, I will bump that from 4 to 5 for this new version, although it really seems like they should/will trade Higgy before the rule 5 rosters need to be set.

C (5): 3 of Trevino/Higgy/Rortvedt/Narvaez, Wells, Ramirez
IF (7): Rizzo, Torres, Volpe, LeMahieu, Peraza, Cabrera, Chaparro
OF (6): Judge, Stanton, Bauers, Pereira, Florial, Dominguez

SP (10): Cole, Rodon, Cortes, King, Schmidt, Vasquez, Brito, Beeter, Gomez, Spence
RP (12): Holmes, Loaisiga, Kahnle, Hamilton, Marinaccio, Gil, Weissert, Abreu, Effross, Trivino, Ramirez, Barclay

I added Carlos Narvaez, Mitch Spence, Andres Chaparro (minor league free agent if not added by Monday so probably gone then if not added), and Nick Ramirez. Jared Serna is rule 5 eligible and a solid prospect, but he is a 5'6" 2B who finished the year in high A, so maybe roll the dice on leaving him unprotected. Elijah Dunham or Brandon Lockridge are both potential depth optionable OFers, but maybe having both protects against losing one and so no need to add either.

Matt Krook and Anthony Misiewicz are relievers both still on the 40 man too, both have an option left. NY has a bunch of potentially helpful in 2024 relievers in AA they don't have to protect yet (Watson, Dees, Neely) so they don't have to be too careful about the current fringe guys ahead of them, but certainly those two still being around means they have a shot to stick this winter, or at least for now. Not sure what Trivino's status of returning to pitch is, but he is not so cheap and could easily be non-tendered.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

Do we think Higgy wasn't cut because they might be trading Wells in a potential Soto deal?

 

[jon abbey]

Do we think Higgy wasn't cut because they might be trading Wells in a potential Soto deal?

No no no. I mean it's possible that Wells could be moved, although a lot more likely he is NY's main catcher in 2024, but Higgy has value and they should be able to get something back for him.

This isn't finalizing the 40 man yet, this is just part of the process where you need to re-add anyone on the 60 day IL to your 40 man or they become FAs, so NY needed to clear 40 man space for those guys (Dominguez, Effross, etc). More guys will be cut or traded, this is just the first group.

 

[jon abbey]

Also I think if NY did trade for Soto, the value they'd give would very likely mostly be in pitching which SD badly needs, maybe Clarke Schmidt plus a couple of guys from the Warren/Beeter/Hampton/Thorpe/Brito/Vasquez group.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

No no no. I mean it's possible that Wells could be moved, although a lot more likely he is NY's main catcher in 2024, but Higgy has value and they should be able to get something back for him.

This isn't finalizing the 40 man yet, this is just part of the process where you need to re-add anyone on the 60 day IL to your 40 man or they become FAs, so NY needed to clear 40 man space for those guys (Dominguez, Effross, etc). More guys will be cut or traded, this is just the first group.

Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification as to the 40-man. Much appreciated.

 

[jon abbey]

Carlos Narvaez added to the 40 man, I think he would have been a minor league FA if not added today. I think the same holds for Andres Chaparro, but he is presumably not being added or they would have been announced together.

So NY has 5 catchers on the 40 man currently, and will almost certainly add Agustin Ramirez too. Not looking good for Higgy, sorry, dude.

 

[jon abbey]

OK, this needs to be set by Tuesday, so I'm going to take one last run at this:

NY's current 40 man roster, at 38 right now:

C (5): Wells, Trevino, Higgy, Rortvedt, Narvaez
IF (6): Rizzo, Torres, Volpe, LeMahieu, Peraza, Cabrera
OF (6): Judge, Stanton, Bauers, Pereira, Florial, Dominguez

SP (8): Cole, Rodon, Cortes, King, Schmidt, Vasquez, Brito, Gomez
RP (13): Holmes, Loaisiga, Kahnle, Hamilton, Marinaccio, Gil, Weissert, Abreu, Effross, Trivino, Ramirez, Misiewicz, Krook

==========================================

Clayton Beeter and Agustin Ramirez are the two obvious protects, even though Ramirez gives them six catchers. Higgy will be moved, maybe Rortvedt or Narvaez too, but the open spots mean they can wait until after the rule 5 to do that.

After that it's a question of whether they like Barclay better than Misiewicz or Krook (all unproven lefty relievers), they have some replaceable relievers there but they also have some strong relief candidates who don't need to be on the 40 man yet, so they have time to let that play out if they choose.

So I will say Beeter and Ramirez added to the above 38, and that's it unless there is a trade before then.

 

[jon abbey]

So I will say Beeter and Ramirez added to the above 38, and that's it unless there is a trade before then.

And that's what happened. NY needs to move at least one catcher (Higgy) and probably two (Rortvedt or Narvaez).

 

[jon abbey]

I just happened to see an Athletic article from July 12 running down the full NY 40 man roster then, I thought it would be interesting to see who is gone since then. It is sad to see how much dead weight NY was carrying (we knew it all along of course) but nice to see how much has been cleared out since July.

Luis Severino
Domingo German
Deivi Garcia (!)
Wandy Peralta
Ryan Weber

Josh Donaldson
Greg Allen
Harrison Bader
Franchy Cordero
Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Billy McKinney
Willie Calhoun

 

[jon abbey]

Three more cleared out from that July list today:

Albert Abreu
Anthony Misiewicz

Jake Bauers

That is seven of eleven OF/DHs gone in the last four months, good riddance.

 

[jon abbey]

Weissert gone and Verdugo added, so let's see where we are:

NY's current 40 man roster, at 37 right now:

C (6): Wells, Trevino, Higgy, Rortvedt, Narvaez, Ramirez
IF (6): Rizzo, Torres, Volpe, LeMahieu, Peraza, Cabrera
OF (7): Judge, Verdugo, Stanton, Pereira, Florial, Dominguez, Gonzalez

SP (8): Cole, Rodon, Cortes, King, Schmidt, Vasquez, Beeter, Gomez
RP (10): Brito, Holmes, Loaisiga, Kahnle, Hamilton, Marinaccio, Gil, Effross, Ramirez, Krook

Two of those catchers will go at some point, I guess, certainly still more moves coming.

 

[jon abbey]

Assuming the Soto deal goes through, NY is back down to 35 on the 40 man:

C (5): Wells, Trevino, Rortvedt, Narvaez, Ramirez
IF (6): Rizzo, Torres, Volpe, LeMahieu, Peraza, Cabrera
OF (9): Judge, Soto, Verdugo, Grisham, Stanton, Pereira, Florial, Dominguez, Gonzalez

SP (6): Cole, Rodon, Cortes, Schmidt, Beeter, Gomez
RP (9): Holmes, Loaisiga, Kahnle, Hamilton, Marinaccio, Gil, Effross, Ramirez, Krook

Will Warren will get one of those spots, 5th SP as of now, 6th if they add someone ahead of him.

 

[jon abbey]

The July 2023 article in The Athletic I mentioned above that runs down the then current NY 40 man lists 42 players somehow, NY is now down to 22 of those 42 (plus Misiewicz on a minor league deal), they have cleared out a lot of deadwood in the last six months.

https://theathletic.com/4681781/2023/07/12/yankees-40-thoughts-40-man-roster/

 

[jon abbey]

NY still has too many catchers (5) on the 40 man, but they have gotten back to 20 pitchers and 20 position players:

C (5): Wells, Trevino, Rortvedt, Narvaez, Ramirez
IF (7): Rizzo, Torres, Volpe, LeMahieu, Peraza, Cabrera, Castillo, Vivas
OF (8): Judge, Soto, Verdugo, Grisham, Stanton, Pereira, Dominguez

SP (8): Cole, Rodon, Stroman, Cortes, Schmidt, Weaver, Beeter, Gomez
Swingmen (2): Morris, Poteet
RP (10): Holmes, Loaisiga, Kahnle, Gonzalez, Hamilton, Marinaccio, Gil, Effross, Ramirez, Krook

Interesting to see the post-Soto moves all together like that, NY has added five pitchers to the 40 man since then and rebuilt their depth somewhat:

Stroman
Weaver
Morris
Poteet
Gonzalez

https://www.mlb.com/yankees/roster/40-man

I thought they would have an open spot once spring training started because Dominguez would definitely be out until the summer at least, but he seems to be progressing so well that they may not want to do that.

 

[Murderer's Crow]

You think Wells is starting?

 

[jon abbey]

You think Wells is starting?

Maybe 60/40? If his defense stays solid, they could use his lefty bat.

 

[jon abbey]

Let's do an update here:

C (5): Wells, Trevino, Rortvedt, Narvaez, Ramirez
IF (8): Rizzo, Torres, Volpe, LeMahieu, Peraza, Cabrera, Vivas, Groshans
OF (6): Judge, Soto, Verdugo, Grisham, Stanton, Pereira

SP (8): Cole, Rodon, Stroman, Cortes, Schmidt, Weaver, Beeter, Gomez
Swingmen (2): Morris, Poteet
RP (11): Holmes, Loaisiga, Kahnle, Ferguson, Gonzalez, Hamilton, Trivino, Marinaccio, Gil, Ramirez, Andrews

60 day IL: Effross, Dominguez

Trivino is presumably a 60 day candidate also, wonder if they might try to claim Diego Castillo again in that spot (the Phillies DFAd him a day or two ago).

 

[jon abbey]

The Orioles claimed Castillo, NY claimed another pitcher and put Trivino onto the 60 day:

View: https://twitter.com/YankeesPR/status/1758582243092554222?s=20

 

[jon abbey]

Moore is a 6’6” righty who throws hard (averages 97, touches 100), but has control and health issues. He’s only 25 and has two options.

 

[jon abbey]

NY is still playing games at the back of the 40 man, trying to stockpile a bit more depth in AAA.

Today they claimed Jahmai Jones, a 26 year old 2B/CF/LF who had been DFAd by MIL, and in turn DFAd Jordan Groshans. If no one picks up Groshans in a week, NY gets to keep him and presumably they'll do the same thing with Jones sometime in the next month, as he is out of minor league options and it seems really unlikely he'll actually make NY's 26 man roster. Jones was a top 100 prospect back in 2018, this is the kind of player Cashman loves to collect (former top 100 player, seeming bust now, but still only 25-27).

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/yankees-claim-jahmai-jones-waivers-brewers-jordan-groshans-dfa.html

 

[jon abbey]

I'm not quite sure how it happened in just 4 days (maybe they DFAd him 3 days before announcing it?), but NY managed to keep Jordan Groshans too.

View: https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1764421908462780555


So this winter, they have claimed all of Jeter Downs, Oscar Gonzalez and Jordan Groshans, and later passed them through waivers successfully, keeping all three in their system but not clogging the 40 man roster.

The odds are that none of those three will ever help the big league team (although I do like Gonzalez in that kind of depth role), but you never know when someone might figure it out, and those three are all former top 100 prospects, all three between 24-26 years old still.

 

[jon abbey]

Not the way you want 40 man spots to open up, but NY can now put Peraza and Cole on the 60 day IL to open up spots when they need them. It doesn't start ticking for anyone until Opening Day, so there's no rush.

Nick Burdi will definitely need a spot if he stays healthy a few more weeks, Will Warren when they decide to use him too. NY needs a fourth bench player also, that person is quite possibly not in the organization yet.

 

[Wingack]

View: https://twitter.com/alexjstumpf/status/1773811981482426400?s=46&t=-M7K07aV9oTvsCKHtZkfZQ

 

[jon abbey]

NY also got some international spending money, Brubaker was PIT’s opening day starter in 2022. He is recovering from Tommy John and expected back mid-season.

 

[jon abbey]

Brubaker is already on the 60 day IL so NY doesn’t need to make a 40 man move.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

if he still looks like he did in 1980, I know a few folks who might become Yankee fans

Spoiler: Spoiler

 

[jon abbey]

NY badly needs some rotation depth and this is a guy who has a promising pitch mix if utilized correctly and who should be back midseason, NY with a lengthy list of mid-season replacements already.

Cole
Brubaker

Kahnle
Effross
Trivino

Dominguez
LeMahieu

 

[Murderer's Crow]

Yankees trade for Jake Cousins from the ChiSox for cash. Sits 95-97 and has a hard slider is about all I can find on him.

 

[jon abbey]

Yankees trade for Jake Cousins from the ChiSox for cash. Sits 95-97 and has a hard slider is about all I can find on him.

It's not clear yet that this is even a 40 man move, he was not on the White Sox 40 man roster, but we'll see.

 

[jon abbey]

View: https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1507127026003628035

 

[jon abbey]

Tully DFAd (despite having options) without pitching in a game, Cousins activated. It's a little odd that Cousins couldn't make the White Sox a week ago and is now on the Yankees, but in Matt Blake we (I) trust.

 

[jon abbey]

No one claimed Tanner Tully so NY got him back and sent him back to AAA, off the 40 man as he should be (sorry Tanner but you know I'm right).

 

[jon abbey]

NY sends down Cousins, brings up 28 year old non-prospect Josh Maciejewski and DFAs Clayton Andrews to clear a 40 man spot. None of those three should be anywhere near the NY roster on merit, just trying to get through a long season.

 

[jon abbey]

Jorbit Vivas (on the 40 man) and Oscar Gonzalez (not on the 40 man) both fractured their eye sockets in separate incidents (in different ballparks) on the same day in late March and thus neither has played so far this season. Both of them were fairly high depth pieces, Vivas could be NY's 2B next year if Gleyber leaves and Gonzalez has MLB experience with CLE and looked good in the spring.

Anyway, both got hurt the same day and both returned today, Vivas led off and played 2B in AAA (1-4) and Gonzalez is hitting 2nd in a rehab game in low A tonight. Welcome back sirs!

 

[jon abbey]

View: https://twitter.com/alexjstumpf/status/1773811981482426400?s=46&t=-M7K07aV9oTvsCKHtZkfZQ

The PTBNL has been named, Keiner Delgado, who is a legit prospect, ranked around #20 for NY in most rankings. He is one of their many undersized 2B and was caught in a numbers game somewhat, only so many middle infield jobs in the organization. He played in the FCL last year but NY has Arias and Lombard Jr. in low A this year, so he was stuck behind them in extended spring training.

 

[Wingack]

The PTBNL has been named, Keiner Delgado, who is a legit prospect, ranked around #20 for NY in most rankings. He is one of their many undersized 2B and was caught in a numbers game somewhat, only so many middle infield jobs in the organization. He played in the FCL last year but NY has Arias and Lombard Jr. in low A this year, so he was stuck behind them in extended spring training.

Feels like they must really like Brubaker then.

 

[jon abbey]

Feels like they must really like Brubaker then.

Not sure when he is supposed to be back this year, but I think they consider him a legit rotation option for next year.

But also if I had to guess (and this is a lot of guessing), when Cashman made this deal (March 29), NY's rotation depth looked decidedly thinner than it does now. I was going to say I'm not sure if he would have made the same deal if offered today, but NY really is loaded with middle infielders throughout the system.