An Ideal 40 Man Roster Discussion

If you've been around PSA at all lately, you have most likely seen a lot of discussion about the state of the Yankees 40 man roster. There seem to be some truly baffling inclusions and exclusions that make little sense to those of us who don't know what's going on in the collective minds of the Yankee front office. However, that doesn't and shouldn't stop discussion about what we would do if given the chance to make such decisions. Whether you agree with the decisions that have been made by the front office or not, everyone has some idea of who should and should not be on the roster, because it's always interesting to see how certain players' inclusions are defended by fans, and this is mine.

The Mops:

There are seven pitchers on the 40 man roster who can really only be described as mop up relievers. Having a few of these guys around to pitch in blow outs is necessary, but at some point, having too many is simply redundant. I don't see what Buddy Carlyle (4.70 ERA, 5.04 FIP), can contribute that Lance Pendleton (2.25 ERA, 5.95 FIP) and Luis Ayala (1.48 ERA, 3.24 FIP) can't also do. Of those, I prefer Ayala, because his Batting Average Against (.247) doesn't look as unsustainable to me as Pendleton's .182 BAA does, but it's a pretty small sample size in all cases. Ayala's 91.5 LOB%, however, is concerning. Batters were hitting almost .600 off of Kanekoa Texeira in AAA before he went on the Disabled List, but somehow, his inclusion on the 40 man roster remains necessary. The Yankees seem reluctant to risk their players being claimed off waivers, but I just can't imagine that the organization would be terribly devastated if we cut a little excess in the purely low leverage pitcher department.

The Catchers:

It's been well documented here that Russell Martin has not displayed the offense worthy of the All Star Game he showed at the beginning of the season lately. Through April, Martin had a .293/.376/.587 triple slash, a .425 wOBA, and a 170 wRC+. This began talk on PSA about apologies, possibly making him catcher of the future, and allowed him to accumulate a likely insurmountable lead in voting to be the American League starting catcher at the ASG (my apologies to Alex Avila). A few people remained skeptical, as his career numbers showed that he had a tendency to start off hot and then cool off as the injuries crept up. Joe Girardi has not been very kind to Russ and has played him more than a catcher with a history riddled with injuries probably should be. When Martin hurt his back and couldn't play for nearly a week, Francisco Cervelli stepped in to play every game. Cervelli is fine as a backup, but he was playing as a starter, and the weaknesses (or possibly fatigue, maybe both) started to show in his game. Too many attempts to catch a base stealer became a game of catch with Curtis Granderson, and his offense, while ok for a backup, certainly didn't make anyone really forget about his defensive struggles.

For the month of May, Martin's triple slash dropped to .200/.333/.347 with a .323 wOBA and a 100 wRC+. As of today, nearly the end of June, the numbers have lowered even more to .174/ .278/.174, .223 wOBA, and a 32 wRC+ for the month. Whether the extreme drop off is due to injury or simply being overworked (I think it's both, personally, and that the two are directly related to one another), steps can and should be taken to try and get Martin back to his April form, or at least closer to it than he is now.

Should Russell Martin have gone to the DL? Probably, but we can't do anything about that at this point. The best we can hope for now is having him rested and healthy as the season goes on, even if he can't return to those April numbers. I believe that the best way to keep him healthy for the rest of the season is to have him split time at catcher so he doesn't get overworked. The best way to do this? Call up Jesus Montero. This plan allows Jesus to get acclimated to the big leagues, while giving Martin the necessary rest he needs to stay healthy. If each of them caught 3-4 days a week, it would go a long way toward ensuring that we'd have 2 healthy catchers ready for a playoff push, minimizing the time Cervelli needs to spend behind the plate. Teams like the Reds, Tigers, and even the Angels, to an extent, use a 2 catcher system effectively. It is possible to get both adequate playing time, considering that Montero could also DH if necessary. Last season, Montero found his power swing as the summer went on. It would be great if he could bring some of those home runs to the Bronx while also learning from some of the best players in the game. Would anyone truly miss Gustavo Molina if his roster spot was given to Jesus Montero?

Some guys have a necessary spot on the 40 man roster to ensure that they cannot be taken in the Rule 5 draft, which explains the inclusion of players like Dellin Betances, Andrew Brackman, and Melky Mesa, among others. Those players aside, who would you drop or add to the 40 man roster if you were in charge? Are you a fan of it as it stands? The current roster can be found here, if you're interested.

Please call up Jesus Montero.