We come to the time of the preseason when Yankees manager Aaron Boone and his coaching staff must decide who will complete the 26-man roster that will start New York’s regular season at Yankee Stadium on the day.
Boone has said he expects to bring in a group of 13 pitchers and 13 positioners to start the season. Now that the starting grid has been determined, three areas remain at stake: fifth starter, two fall-back spots and two seats on the bench. Let’s take a closer look at each of these battles.
FIFTH OPENER
The candidates
LD Domingo Germán (numbers in training: EFE of 0.00 in 9 IL, 5 H, 1 BB, 13 K)
LD Deivi García (EFE of 2.25 in 8 IL, 5 H, 2 BB, 10 K)
LD Michael King (EFE of 4.00 in 9 IL, 6 H, 5 BB, 6 K)
RHP Jhoulys Chacín (5.40 era in 6 2/3 IL, 8 H, 3 BB, 7 K)
In short, with the top four of the rotation held by Gerrit Cole, Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon and Jordan Montgomery, Germán has emerged as the leader for position five. Boone says he expected the 28-year-old righthanded to be a bit rustier after his long suspension, but Germán looked fit and effective in nine innings. Garcia, King and Chacín could start the season in a different camp, as the Yankees want them to follow all three starting routines, especially Garcia, the team’s No. 3 according to MLB Pipeline.
Want to keep in mind: “If you work hard and you have the coaches close by, they can see what things are working well for you… you feel excited about that. The changes I make are a matter of working consistently. I am very enthusiastic about the results ”. – German