I'm starting this thread because I want to keep an eye on something Cashman has been doing now since the start of last offseason. A lot of NY's top minor league depth this winter was guys who did not need to be on the 40 man yet, so Cashman took that opportunity to keep the back of his 40 man very flexible and he has been claiming guys, adding them to the 40 man and/or 26 man, then DFAing them, hoping no one claims them and then they are part of NY's system, without taking up a 40 man spot any longer. Here is a list of guys who NY has added this way since December:
Oscar Gonzalez (claimed 12/1, DFAd 1/17)
Jeter Downs (claimed 12/19, DFAd 1/24)
Jordan Groshans (claimed 2/13, DFAd 2/28)
Clayton Andrews (claimed 2/14, DFAd 4/8)
McKinley Moore (claimed 2/16, DFAd 4/25)
Jahmai Jones (claimed 2/28, still on the roster)
Taylor Trammell (claimed 4/18, DFAd 5/4)
Michael Tonkin (claimed 4/25, still on the roster)
Colby White (claimed 5/10, sent to AA)
Two guys NY claimed and then later lost to other teams claiming them in the DFA process: Bubba Thompson, Diego Castillo. And NY claimed Matt Gage and then traded him to the Dodgers a few days later as part of a multiplayer deal.
So that's nine guys who NY has added to their organizational depth in the last 5 months via waiver claims who are still around, three on the 40 man still and six successfully passed through waivers.
What I am curious to watch with this thread is if any of this depth actually helps NY at any point, or if it is all just tweaking at the margins for no real reason. Jeter Downs looks the most promising right now, still 25 and playing mostly SS in AAA with 5 HRs in 89 ABs and a .857 OPS.
Oscar Gonzalez (claimed 12/1, DFAd 1/17)
Jeter Downs (claimed 12/19, DFAd 1/24)
Jordan Groshans (claimed 2/13, DFAd 2/28)
Clayton Andrews (claimed 2/14, DFAd 4/8)
McKinley Moore (claimed 2/16, DFAd 4/25)
Jahmai Jones (claimed 2/28, still on the roster)
Taylor Trammell (claimed 4/18, DFAd 5/4)
Michael Tonkin (claimed 4/25, still on the roster)
Colby White (claimed 5/10, sent to AA)
Two guys NY claimed and then later lost to other teams claiming them in the DFA process: Bubba Thompson, Diego Castillo. And NY claimed Matt Gage and then traded him to the Dodgers a few days later as part of a multiplayer deal.
So that's nine guys who NY has added to their organizational depth in the last 5 months via waiver claims who are still around, three on the 40 man still and six successfully passed through waivers.
What I am curious to watch with this thread is if any of this depth actually helps NY at any point, or if it is all just tweaking at the margins for no real reason. Jeter Downs looks the most promising right now, still 25 and playing mostly SS in AAA with 5 HRs in 89 ABs and a .857 OPS.
