Speaking to reporters ahead of the Yankees’ final spring training game, Aaron Boone confirmed the team’s plans for their Opening Day roster. Luis Gil will be optioned to the minors, while relievers Jake Bird and Brent Headrick will take the last spots on the team.
New York had already announced that Gil would not open the season in the rotation, leading to speculation that he would ultimately begin the year in the minors. The move makes sense; the Yankees don’t need a fifth starter until April 11th,
and starting Gil with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre allows the right-hander to stay stretched out at around 80-90 pitches in the meantime. It also gives Gil a chance to further refine his release point, something he and the team appear to have been tinkering with this spring.
The Yankees will spend the extra roster spot on relief pitching, meaning the Opening Day roster includes nine relievers. The first five spots were all but spoken for: David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz, Tim Hill, and Ryan Yarbrough. Paul Blackburn seemed like a good bet to make the team after returning on a major league deal over the winter, and as Peter wrote up earlier, Cade Winquest made the club, on the strength of an interesting arsenal and his Rule-5 status, if not his spring training performance.
Bird and Headrick now both have a chance to audition for a longer stay with the club prior to Gil’s potential call-up in mid-April. The right-handed Bird was dreadful after coming over from Colorado last summer, but pitched reasonably well in spring and still has the kind of stuff that convinced the team to acquire him in the first place. Headrick gives the Yankees another lefty out of the pen, and a fairly powerful one at that, with his 94 mph fastball playing up due to his 6-foot-6 frame.
With that, the roster is all but officially set. What do you think? Is this how you would have deployed the extra roster spot with Gil sent down?
