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Examining where players without guaranteed spots on the Yankees' Opening Day roster stand in their quest to make the team after one week of Spring Training.
Going into the 2014 season, the Yankees have questions surrounding both the rotation and bullpen. They are currently holding a competition between Vidal Nuno, David Phelps, Adam Warren, and Michael Pineda to decide who should be the fifth starter in the rotation. Now that Mariano Rivera has retired, there are only three relievers (David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, Matt Thornton) who are guaranteed jobs, and the other four spots will go to the players who earn it.
I will start off by tracking 25 pitchers through the first week of spring training. As players are cut from camp, so will they be cut from my tracker, Tanya has done the same for hitters. Players will be evaluated on how likely they are to make the team, which I will determine from both performance and logical upside.
Here is the grading system:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The only two players guaranteed spots on the roster are Phelps and Warren. Regardless of who wins the fifth starter competition, all four pitchers could end up on the team, so the competition for the bullpen will be directly impacted by the fifth starter competition.
Dellin Betances and Preston Claiborne are likely the favorites among those looking to score a bullpen job. Mark Montgomery, Danny Burawa, Matt Daley, Chase Whitley, Yoshinori Tateyama, Cesar Cabral, Chris Leroux, and Jim Miller could all push their way into the picture with the right combination of performance and injury.
There are plenty of prospects in camp that are looking to make a name for themselves, but won't necessarily make the team. Unfortunately, most of them have been dealing with injuries. Manny Banuelos and Jose Campos came to camp in order to rehab, but Jose Ramirez, Nik Turley, and Francisco Rondon have all suffered injuries in the last week. Bryan Mitchell, Shane Greene, and Fred Lewis could end up getting longer looks, but they're likely headed back to the minors.
