Yanks Add Four to Forty Man Roster
By Mike Silva ~ November 21st, 2008. Filed under: Yanks Minors.
Chad Jennings at the SWB Yankees Blog updates us on the Yankees 40 man roster situtation. The team has added Anthony Claggett, Michael Dunn, Steven Jackson, and Chris Garcia. All four would have been Rule V draftee candidates if exposed. All make sense, especially Claggett who I was impressed with when I saw him pitch in August. He could turn out to be the best arm acquired in the Sheffield trade.
Some of the high profile names left exposed that Jennings points out are Alan Horne, JB Cox, Kevin Whelan, and Ramiro Pena. I saw Whelan pitch and, although he has incredible velocity, his control is still very much an issue. I asked Trenton manager Tony Franklin in the post game if Whelan reminded him of Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn. JB Cox also should draw tons of interest as well. Despite how raw some of the aforementioned players are, I could see a small market team take a chance on any of them. If I ran a team like Pittsburgh, Kansas City, or Florida the need for veteran depth decreases because you probably won’t be playing any meaningful games in 2009. Of course, it’s asking a lot for most teams to keep players on their major league roster the entire season, especially if they are not ready for the big leagues.
If you remember, the Nationals took a chance on a raw catcher out of the Mets minor league system two years ago. Today, Jesus Flores is the starting catcher for Manny Acta. You just never know what could happen. Speaking of catchers, both PJ Pilettere and Austin Romine were left exposed as well. Not sure if a team could afford to keep either on their roster the entire season since they need more minor league time.
We will continue to monitor this and our team of writers will add their expert analysis.
