My Roster Moves on September 1st

While they are scary shoes to try on, I will put on my Brian Cashman GM shoes for this article. September call ups are approaching quickly, and every team is starting to look at who should be given the nod.

I never seem to agree with the Yankees' September call ups (unless it was Shelley Duncan), but there have been surprise call ups that made differences on the ML roster in recent years.

The 40-man roster could use a lot of fixing for the Yankees, and I will attempt to do so as part of my roster moves. Here they are:

Promote (no 40-man moves necessary): Raul Valdes, Greg Golson.

Valdes is a left-handed reliever that should not get any important innings. Instead, Valdes should be used purely for lefty-lefty matchups.

Golson is the biggest no-brainer of the bunch in my opinion. Golson's speed is the type that could win close ballgames for the Yankees, and let's not forget about his defense.

Promote (40-man moves necessary): George Kontos, Jesus Montero, Kevin Russo.

Kontos could serve as another long reliever for the Yanks, and his numbers in Triple-A support his case for a call-up. Kontos is 4-4 with a 2.82 ERA, 84 strikeouts, and 23 walks in 83 innings pitched for Scranton this year.

Kontos is not a prospect, so if he is Noesi'd by the Yankees it would not be ideal, but also not a huge issue.

To make room for Kontos, the Yankees should DFA Ryan Pope, who is 0-1 with a 4.32 ERA... in Trenton. Pope does not need to be protected from other teams, who might even be doing the Yankees a favor by claiming him.

Montero doesn't even need an explanation. The top Yankees prospect is tearing up Triple-A, and the Yankees have a need at C/DH, the two positions he happens to play! If Montero is not promoted come September 1st, Pinstripe Alley will go to Brian Cashman's office, and make some changes. I'll let Rorschach44 decide what to do.

To make room for Montero, the Yankees should promote, then 60-day DL Justin Maxwell.

Kevin Russo is a name that should be familiar. Scranton's utility infielder played for the Yankees in 2010, and while his numbers in Triple-A aren't outstanding, the Yankees could use a utility infielder. Russo is hitting .271/.326/.369 with 3 home runs, 45 RBI, and 10 SB.

To make room for Russo, the Yankees should transfer Ramiro Pena to the 60-day DL if he will not be healthy this season, or DFA/transfer Jeff Marquez to the 60-day DL, who has no right to be on the ML roster.

You may be wondering why I decided not to call-up players such as Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Aaron Laffey, Kevin Whelan, Brandon Laird, Jorge Vazquez, and/or Chris Dickerson.

In Banuelos/Betances' cases, they are top prospects that would be wasting away on the 40-man roster. I'm all for Banuelos being a part of the ML bullpen, but only when the Triple-A season ends and there are no innings left for him to throw.

Aaron Laffey's status on the 40-man roster is questionable. Reports say he is on the 40-man, but the Yankees webiste says he isn't. If he is, he can be called up. If he isn't, he is not worth DFA'ing someone for.

Whelan, Laird, and Vazquez all fall into the same category. There are not enough innings, or at-bats, for these players to get in the roster, so they would be better off finishing their respective seasons, then coming to the majors when said seasons are over.

Kevin Russo can play 2B/SS and is not much of a prospect, which is why I chose him over Laird.

Other moves:

Austin Romine should be promoted to Triple-A on September 1st, as a corresponding move to Montero's promotion to Bigs. Romine should spend next season in Triple-A, while Montero bashes ML pitching. I love the catching prospects!

Pat Venditte should get a shot in Triple-A before Scranton's season ends. Sure, the switch-pitcher isn't much of a prospect, but numbers are numbers, and Venditte's 2.70 ERA in Trenton does not lie, nor does his .223 BAA.

Scranton's rotation should be, in no specific order: Banuelos, Betances, Phelps, Warren, Mitchell.

Thoughts?