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Thomas Neal has been called up to the big leagues, according to Mark Feinsand's source. The corresponding move to get him on the 25-man roster is sending the struggling David Adams back down to Triple-A. The problem with this move is that Neal is not on the 40-man roster, and while there is an empty spot, that was presumably being kept open for Francisco Cervelli. We all know that the Yankees don't like to DFA anyone, so this move would guarantee the need for one in the future.
The 25-year-old outfielder has hit .339/.426/.446 on the season and has hit .341/.423/.450 against right-handers and .333/.435/.436 against left-handers as a righty. He will be the designated hitter against lefties, which essentially puts him into a Ben Francisco role if he's not going to be in the outfield. If he's not in the outfield, that means Vernon Wells will still somehow be playing every day.
Despite starting his MLB career on a hot streak, Adams ended up cooling off tremendously and hitting only .217/.239/.348. Getting rid of the backup third baseman means that Kevin Youkilis will either play every day, which is probably not a good idea, or Jayson Nix will play there against lefties. Reid Brignac would then consistently get starts against left-handers from here on out.
If Neal is not going to be used as an outfielder, maybe it would have been better to call up Ronnier Mustelier because he can at least play some third base and allow the depth chart to stay a little stronger.
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