Projecting the New York Yankees Final 25-Man Roster at the Start of Spring Games
The Yankees will take the field March 3 for the first spring game of their 2015 season.
The team is hoping to rebound from a disappointing 2014 season which saw it finish second in the AL East by a whopping 12 games. To do that, the Yankees will have to deal with a new crop of players, injury concerns and the departure of longtime shortstop and surefire Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, as well as the big dark cloud hanging over Alex Rodriguez.
There is room for optimism with this team though, and so long as they can stay healthy, the Yankees are candidates to surpass their modest PECOTA win projections (projected for an 80-82 record) for the 2015 season.
But, before the first spring game takes place and the media circus sets in, let's take a look at who will make up the Yankees' 25-man roster and what we might expect out of that group over the course of 162 games.
So, without further ado, I give you your 2015 New York Yankees.
Infield
1 of 5
Projected Infield
| Player | Bats | 2014 Stats |
| C Brian McCann | L | 140 G, .232/.286/.406, 39 XBH (23 HR), 75 RBI, 57 R |
| 1B Mark Teixeira | S | 123 G, .216/.313/.398, 36 XBH (22 HR), 62 RBI, 56 R |
| 2B Stephen Drew | L | 85 G, .162/.237/.299, 22 XBH (7 HR), 26 RBI, 18 R |
| 3B Chase Headley | S | 135 G, .243/.328/.372, 34 XBH (13 HR), 49 RBI, 55 R |
| SS Didi Gregorius | L | 80 G, .226/.290/.363, 20 XBH (6 HR), 27 RBI, 35 R |
| DH Alex Rodriguez | R | Suspended (DNP) |
Analysis
The Yankees lineup clearly isn't as formidable as it once was, but there are some intriguing pieces nonetheless.
Brian McCann and Mark Teixeira are the only two infielders who were with the club from Day 1 of the 2014 season. The two suffered through injury-plagued seasons, and while they struggled to produce adequate batting averages and on-base percentages, the two flashed decent power, combining for 75 extra-base hits and 45 home runs.
Teixeira, a year removed from wrist surgery, should be completely healthy, and general manager Brian Cashman expects him to be a productive member of the 2015 lineup.
McCann put up a 94 OPS+ (the second-worst mark of his career) last year, fueled largely by a career-worst .231 BAbip, per Baseball-Reference.com. Conversely, he posted strikeout, in play, contact and line-drive rates that were all better than his career averages.
Providing he stays healthy, McCann is a prime candidate to rebound in 2015.
Up the middle, Stephen Drew and Didi Gregorius will form a reliable double-play duo, but their offensive contributions for the 2015 season are very much in question. Last year, they combined for a .194/.263/.331 batting line, and unless both rebound and exhibit some of their pre-2014 form, they may not be long for the starting lineup (particularly Drew).
Headley will return to man the final corner-infield position, and the 30-year-old seems to have found some stability in his game following the unsustainable pace he set for himself back in 2012. The former San Diego Padre standout was consistent over just 135 games last year, posting a respectable .243/.328/.372 slash line between his time with the Yankees and Padres.
After moving to Yankee Stadium, Headley experienced a noticeable uptick in offensive production, working to a .262/.371/.398 triple slash with 14 extra-base hits, 17 RBI, 28 runs scored and a 49-29 K/BB ratio. Over a full, healthy season, Headley could push for 20 home runs and 50 extra-base hits and become a mainstay near the top of the batting order.
The designated hitter spot will likely begin as some sort of platoon between Alex Rodriguez and Garrett Jones. Rodriguez figures to get the most use of all the Yankees' DH options, but his role with the team will be largely determined by his health and what he can offer offensively.
If the 39-year-old can provide anything reminiscent of his former self—something similar to the 2011 or 2012 season—it'll be a major boon to the Yankees' lineup.
Outfield
2 of 5
Projected Outfield
| Player | Bats | 2014 Stats |
| LF Brett Gardner | L | 148 G, .256/.327/.422, 50 XBH (17 HR), 58 RBI, 87 R, 21-26 SB |
| CF Jacoby Ellsbury | L | 149 G, .271/.328/.419, 48 XBH (16 HR), 70 RBI, 71 R, 39-44 SB |
| RF Carlos Beltran | S | 109 G, .233/.301/.402, 38 XBH (15 HR), 49 RBI, 46 R |
Analysis
Aside from Carlos Beltran, the Yankees outfield is about as solid as any in the American League.
The duo of Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury offers an intriguing mix of power and speed, as well as the ability to cover mass amounts of real estate in left and center field. In addition, their bat-on-ball and on-base skills should help to keep the top of the lineup in great shape throughout the 2015 season.
Beltran is the big question mark of the group. As is the case with any soon-to-be 38-year-old athlete, health is always an issue.
With Beltran, it's even more of an issue. Over his 17-year-career, the Puerto Rico native has managed to play 150-plus games just seven times while failing to reach the 100-game mark five times since his rookie year.
Last year, he appeared in just 109 games for the Yankees. While on the field, he proved to be a reliable source of power and RBI, but his defense has suffered severely.
Last year, among outfielders with at least 250 innings in the field, Beltran ranked dead last in UZR/150 (minus-27.3), OOZ (12) and RZR (.848), per FanGraphs.com.
Gardner and Ellsbury will be focal points of the offense in 2015, but Beltran's health will go a long way toward helping the lineup reach its full potential.
Bench
3 of 5
Projected Bench
| Player | Bats | 2014 Stats |
| 1B/RF Garrett Jones | L | 146 G, .246/.309/.411, 50 XBH (15 HR), 53 RBI, 59 R |
| C Austin Romine | R | *81 G, .242/.300/.365, 23 XBH (6 HR), 33 RBI, 33 R |
| IF Brendan Ryan | R | 49 G, .167/.211/.202, 4 XBH (0 HR), 8 RBI, 5 R |
| OF Chris Young | R | 111 G, .222/.299/.385, 31 XBH (11 HR), 38 RBI, 40 R |
*Denotes Triple-A statistics
Analysis
The Yankees bench isn't its strong suit. Garrett Jones and Chris Young will be able to provide some decent offensive production when called upon, while Austin Romine and Brendan Ryan will serve a purpose.
Jones will have a chance to work in a platoon with A-Rod, and depending on Rodriguez's output, Jones could surpass him as the full-time DH. Last year with the Marlins, he put up a .246/.309/.411 slash line with 15 home runs, 53 RBI and 59 runs scored.
Through the month of June, Jones was spectacular, slashing an impressive .264/.333/.440 with 27 extra-base hits (10 home runs), 36 RBI, 37 runs scored and a 70-31 K/BB ratio. Through his final three months of play, Jones fell off a cliff.
Young was outstanding in his short showing with the club last year. Over just 23 games, the then-30-year-old logged an impressive .282/.354/.521 batting line with 11 extra-base hits, 10 RBI and nine runs scored.
Young was a spark plug for the team last year, and while he'll likely never replicate his pre-2012 form, he can still be a valuable bench bat.
Ryan has a lot less to offer in the way of offense (.167/.211/.202 triple slash in 2014), but the 32-year-old is as solid as anyone in the field, boasting a career UZR/150 of 11.2 in over 5000 innings at the position.
Romine is essentially just bench depth at this point. The 26-year-old has appeared in just 76 big league games and has managed just a .204 batting average in that time with a sub-.250 OBP.
Unless he turns things around, Romine is just keeping the seat warm for top prospect, Gary Sanchez.
.png?w=256)
Starting Rotation
4 of 5
Projected Starting Rotation
| Player | Throws | 2014 Stats |
| Masahiro Tanaka | R | 20 GS, 2.77 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 9.3 K/9, 1.4 BB/9, 136.1 IP |
| CC Sabathia | L | 8 GS, 5.28 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 46 IP |
| Michael Pineda | R | 13 GS, 1.89 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 0.8 BB/9, 76.1 IP |
| Chris Capuano | L | 40 G, 12 GS, 4.35 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 97.1 IP |
| Nathan Eovaldi | R | 33 GS, 4.37 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 199.2 IP |
Analysis
The group of pitchers making up the starting rotation is slightly different than the one the Yankees ended the 2014 season with.
Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda and Capuano are the four returning members, and they'll be joined by newcomer Nathan Eovaldi.
Eovaldi is the most intriguing of the group, sporting a fastball that averaged a near-97 mph in 2014. His slider works as his best secondary pitch and generates a solid 16.84 percent whiff rate, per Brooks Baseball.
What will be interesting to watch this spring is how well Eovaldi induces ground balls. The 25-year-old boasts a 0.83 GB/FB ratio over his four-year career. While that's right in line with the MLB average in that time, it won't play well in Yankee Stadium, which had the highest HR factor in 2014, per ESPN.com.
Capuano spent just a short amount of time with the Yankees last season, appearing in 12 games with the team. The 36-year-old allowed a 4.25 ERA over 65.2 innings with the Yankees, and given his career FIP (4.22) and SIERA (4.01), per FanGraphs.com, it's hard to imagine anything substantially different in 2015.
Tanaka is fresh off a season in which he was the best starter on the team, allowing just a 2.77 ERA with a 13-5 record in just 20 starts. If not for an injury that cost him most of July and all of August, Tanaka could have made a strong push for Rookie of the Year honors last season.
Expect much of the same this year, so long as his elbow holds up. In fact, according to Brad Lefton of The Wall Street Journal, Tanaka's elbow is doing "fine" and he's hoping to "pitch 200 innings, and win 12 more games than he loses."
Sabathia has recently shown up to camp in, well, not the best shape of his life. George A. King III of the New York Post reported late last month that the 34-year-old has worked back up to his 300-plus-pound days.
The extra weight could place some added strain on Sabathia's surgically repaired right knee, but the 14-year-veteran told Ryan Hatch of NJ.com that he plans to wear a knee brace for the entire 2015 season. The brace might help Sabathia, and the added weight may help him regain some of the velocity he has steadily been losing since the 2011 season.
If he's able to stay healthy, Sabathia could be an effective No. 2 behind Tanaka, but the possibility for serious injury increases as he ages and minor injuries continue to pile up.
Finally, we arrive at Pineda. The 26-year-old has a wealth of potential in his powerful right arm, but recently, injuries have kept him sidelined for long periods of time.
The Dominican Republic native appeared in 13 games with the club last year and was downright dominant, allowing just a 1.89 ERA over 76.1 innings pitched. Pineda didn't rack up the strikeouts in the way we expected, averaging just seven strikeouts per nine innings last year, but he displayed impeccable control, walking less than one batter per nine innings.
Pineda missed substantial time last season due to what Jorge Castillo of NJ.com called "a Grade 1 strain of the teres major muscle." The injury kept Pineda out of action for all of May, June and July, but the young righty was nearly untouchable in his nine starts following his return.
If he's able to pitch for a full season in 2015, the Yankees have a potentially deadly trio atop the rotation in Tanaka, Sabathia and Pineda.
Bullpen
5 of 5
Projected Bullpen
| Player | Throws | 2014 Stats |
| CL Dellin Betances | R | 70 G, 1.40 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 13.5 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 90 IP |
| SU Adam Warren | R | 69 G, 2.97 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 78.2 IP |
| SU Andrew Miller | L | 73 G, 2.02 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 14.9 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 62.1 IP |
| MRP David Carpenter | R | 65 G, 3.54 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 61 IP |
| MRP Chasen Shreve | L | 15 G, 0.73 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 10.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 12.1 IP |
| MRP Justin Wilson | L | 70 G, 4.20 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 60 IP |
| LRP Esmil Rogers | R | 34 G, 5.72 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 45.2 IP |
Analysis
The Yankees bullpen received a bit of an overhaul this offseason. With the exception of Esmil Rogers, Dellin Betances and Adam Warren, everyone listed above is new to the bullpen.
The team acquired lefty Andrew Miller on the free-agent market and dealt minor leaguer Manny Banuelos for Chasen Shreve and David Carpenter. The Yankees also traded catcher Francisco Cervelli for lefty Justin Wilson.
The four newcomers will help to supplement the already established core of Betances and Warren. Rogers remains a question mark, and his performance over the 18 appearances he made with the team last season did little to quell the worries surrounding his ability to pitch under the bright lights of New York City.
The rest of the group is a lot less questionable, especially Miller and Betances.
Betances inserted himself into the conversation about the game's best relievers, but he's moving into a new role this year and is replacing David Robertson, who had an outstanding season of his own. Betances should still fare well as the closer, and Miller provides the team with a more-than-capable backup option should Betances struggle.
Shreve and Carpenter were solid in their time with the Braves last year, allowing ERAs of 3.54 and 0.73, respectively. Looking forward into the 2015 season, Shreve and Carpenter should see success similar to what they experienced in 2014, as the two posted FIP marks of 1.43 and 2.94, respectively.
Rogers is the real question mark of the group, given that he sports a career ERA of 5.54 and below-average home run, strikeout and walk rates, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Given the fact that last year's group tied with the Oakland A's for the highest fWAR in the American League (the Yankees also led the league in K/9 and trailed only Seattle in xFIP, per FanGraphs.com) little more continuity would have been nice. Even so, there is a lot of potential in the group, and the Yankees look to have set up another well-rounded bullpen.
All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.com unless otherwise noted.
Follow me on Twitter for more on the Yankees. Follow @TylerDuma
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
