Yankees Mailbag: The roster margins and completing the infield

01/17/2025 03:00 PM

The mailbag zeroes in on some of the intriguing battles for roster spots upcoming this spring.

Good afternoon everyone, it's time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our biweekly offseason call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

The idiot that said, "Harper is coming" asks:What should we expect from JT Brubaker? He has no minor league options remaining, so he can't be sent to Scranton.

Brubaker's case is an interesting one to examine, because there's not a ton that we can go off of. The Yankees acquired Brubaker in late March last year from the Pirates for a player to be named later (which ended up being infielder Keiner Delgado), knowing he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Brubaker was on pace to return in the middle of the season but an oblique injury further complicated his rehab, and he ended up throwing just 16.2 innings in the minors spread across four levels.

The 31-year-old right-hander has been a starting pitcher almost exclusively throughout his career, but there's no room for him in the Yankees' rotation so he'll have to make headway as a reliever. He has a five-pitch mix featuring a sinker, slider, four-seamer, curveball, and changeup, and in his first two seasons at the major league level he primarily relied on the first three offerings. In 2022 he largely ditched the four-seamer and ramped up his sinker usage, and I'd imagine that trend will continue with Matt Blake and company now working through his arsenal. For now, Brubaker's the long-relief and mop-up man in the 'pen, but if he shows promise in his new role there's room to rise as the Yankees have a top-heavy bullpen as currently constructed.

D. Brooker asks: Is the addition of Dominic Smith a sign that Ben Rice will now likely be the Yankees' backup catcher? This would be an ideal way to have two more left-handed bats on the 26-man roster this season. If not, where are Rice and Smith starting the season and who'll be the Yanks' backup catcher?

I don't think they're locked in one way or the other with either of these two — Rice still has minor-league options remaining and could feasibly get playing time at either position down in Triple-A, and Smith himself is on a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training. There's still some time for the Yankees to add to the catching competition behind Austin Wells, but even assuming that the field is already set then it'll be up to the players to sort themselves out on the depth chart throughout spring.

Smith has some slight flexibility having played in the outfield before, but as far as the infield goes he's only been a first baseman, which isn't an ideal profile for a bench bat. They already have DJ LeMahieu on the 26-man roster and Oswaldo Cabrera in the mix, as well as Trent Grisham to backup the outfielders — with a roster that crowded and a trade to thin it out looking unlikely, it becomes difficult to fit Smith in immediately unless he comes out in March slugging. Should injuries open some doors, however, he should be one of the first names called on and have some runway to make an impact.

LocalBlueWhaleRuinsEverything asks:If the Rays were open to dealing Brandon Lowe, should the Yankees try for him? He misses a lot of time due to injuries, but is quite good when healthy.

While I am a big proponent of the adage "if the Rays are interested in your prospects, don't trade them," it's true that Brandon Lowe would be a great solution to finishing the lineup. His injury concerns are definitely valid, but as our own Peter Brody highlighted in his trade target article on Lowe when he is on the field he is undeniably one of the best second basemen in the league. Peter also highlighted the Rays' incentive to move him, as he's the biggest contract on their books this upcoming season and they're in an even bigger financial strain than usual with the damages to Tropicana Field.

Still, they aren't going to just hand away a top second baseman for nothing, and especially not to a division rival. On top of that, with the Yankees' current payroll, even Lowe's modest $10.5 million salary would push them into the highest tier of the luxury tax and that is an area that they've been unwilling to push into this offseason. Because of this, trading for Lowe has the additional complication of needing a complimentary move to happen first — most likely a Marcus Stroman trade, as there have been many rumors about the Yankees shopping the starting pitcher. Once that's out of the way they'd still have to pay a steep price in prospects for Lowe, but if the Rays are willing it would be a sensible place to look for an impact addition.