New York Yankees: Who Goes When the Vets Return?
With starters and veterans for the New York Yankees trickling back from injury, Aaron Boone has a few decisions to make.
It’s been an injury-riddled start to 2019 for the New York Yankees. They couldn’t have drawn up worse luck in their contingency plans. With nearly the entire starting lineup hurt and watching from the bench, Manager Aaron Boone and GM Brian Cashman had to make some quick decisions.
This makeshift rag-tag group of young players has been able to keep the Bronx Bombers afloat and see the team to an 18-14 record. They surprisingly occupy second place in the American League East. Yankees fans have been enjoying the Cinderella story to this point but with Miguel Andujar coming back from injury, it makes New Yorkers think which of the young guns will leave when the veterans return to the diamond in the near future.
The Easy Cuts
Cut: Stephen Tarpley, Replacement: Dellin Betances
This, in my mind, was never going to work out and it’s a no brainer that Stephen Tarpley gets sent back down to Scranton once Dellin Betances comes back. Bottom line, a 10.38 ERA isn’t going to cut it in the bigs. I don’t really have too much to say about Tarpley besides that his pitch locations were never there.
At this Tarpley, he doesn’t have the stuff to make it on a big league roster yet. He has the opportunity to prove himself. The rookie will stick around for a little while longer as Betances isn’t expected to make a return until June, but the likelihood Tarpley stays on the team is slim to none.
Cut: Joe Harvey, Replacement: Luis Severino
Joe Harvey throws an above average Major League average fastball, clocking out at around 95.3 almost every time he throws it. Velocity, however, isn’t going to punch his permanent ticket to the show especially with Luis Severino waiting in the rafters to come back and prove a point. With an even split of games home and away, the numbers show that Harvey is a much better pitcher in Yankee Stadium than anywhere else with a 2.45 ERA.
This is a great sign for Harvey’s future considering that the Bronx is one of the toughest places to pitch in. It was just announced that Sevy is going to be out until the All-Star break. With the starting rotation performing well, Harvey will have a chance to bolster a spot in the crowded bullpen. It’s not likely going to happen, but the reliever has a great foundation to build off of for years to come.
Cut: Jake Barrett, Replacement: Jordan Montgomery
Barring injury, nobody from the starting rotation is going to budge when Jordan Montgomery comes back into the picture as they’re all just pitching well at the moment. Montgomery has been out for an extended period of time due to Tommy John surgery. He will more than likely get moved to the bullpen just to regain a feel for the Major League game once again.
Boone told the media that Montgomery will more than likely be ready to go for the second half of the season. That means it’ll be Jake Barrett that gets the boot after the All-Star break.
Barrett is a very new addition to the New York Yankees only throwing 1.2 innings and giving up a home run to the Minnesota Twins in his sole outing. He has got more time to prove himself, but when Montgomery returns, he will be a great asset like he was before his injury making less space for guys such as Barrett on the roster.
Cut: Mike Tauchman, Replacement: Giancarlo Stanton
Mike Tauchman hasn’t been great and I was surprised that they kept him up over a guy like Mike Ford. With 28 strikeouts and a batting average of .176, he just isn’t getting it done at the plate. This hole will be filled very nicely when Giancarlo Stanton makes a return to the diamond in what most people think will be sometime this month.
Tauchman was batting .304 in the minors and this stint in the Major Leagues will help him when he goes back down. He’ll know what he needs to work on for his next trip up.. Hopefully, for the Yankees, Tauchman will learn to have more patience at the plate, lower his number of strikeouts and become a better hitter on the big stage.