The roster expands to 40 next week. Should the Yankees remove anyone to make room for players such as Jacob Lindgren?
The Yankees roster expands to 40 on Monday, which means September call-ups are coming. Thanks to the five-game winning streak, last night's win, and some help from the other teams, the Yankees' playoff hopes haven't been crushed yet, which means that some prospects will have the opportunity to contribute. At the very least, they can get some experience under their belts. So, who should/could they cut to make room for players not already on the 40-man roster?
First of all, there are quite a few injured players on the 40 who are just taking up space. Among those are Jose Campos who had Tommy John surgery, Slade Heathcott who had season-ending surgery, and Jose Ramirez who is perpetually injured and hasn't played in over a month. Preston Claiborne has been on the DL in the minors for an extended amount of time, though he has been rehabbing and could be close to returning. There's also Matt Daley, who has bounced around between the majors and Triple-A multiple times this season, and was recently placed on the 7-day DL for some unknown reason. It wouldn't be terrible to see him get cut, considering the 5.02 ERA and 5.56 xFIP he put up through 14.1 innings with the Yankees this season.
Of the non-injured players, Rich Hill is pretty expendable. Hill has only pitched in eight games total this season, including two with the Angels, and from that incredibly small sample size of 2.1 IP, he has a 3.86 ERA, 7.85 FIP, and 3.00 WHIP. Comparatively, Jacob Lindgren has a 0.73 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 17.5 K/9 and opponents are hitting just .126 against him through 24.2 IP. Hill is a lefty reliever, and Lindgren (aka Strikeout Factory) is also a lefty reliever, so the Yankees could just swap them out.
There is also the chance that no one gets cut because the Yankees hate taking players off of the 40. However, if they do decide to go that route, then Tyler Webb, Nick Rumbelow, and Jose Pirela could be viable options. Like Lindgren, Webb is also a left-handed reliever, so it would likely be one or the other. Webb has had a good season, boasting a 1.20 WHIP, 3.92 ERA and notching 12.3 K/9. Rumbelow's been somewhat better with a 2.57 ERA, 12.7 K/9 and 1.09 WHIP. As for the position players, Pirela has been superb, batting .307/.354/.447 with an .800 OPS, 10 home runs and 15 stolen bases. The lineup could really use his bat.
Who would you like to see called up or removed from the 40-man roster?