TAMPA — As the clock ticks down on Yankees camp, the Opening Day roster is beginning to take shape.
Carlos Carrasco will be on it. Clarke Schmidt and Ian Hamilton will not. Giancarlo Stanton still is not even close to joining it and it may still include a player or two currently in another camp.
“A work in progress,” general manager Brian Cashman said Saturday when asked about Yankees’ spring at large. “The roster changes all the time, so it’s certainly a different roster this year than how it ended last year. So we’re learning a lot about the new guys. We’ve had some injuries to some of the previous guys left over. I think we have a talented team. Some of them will be left behind as they rehab, but there’s been some guys that have stepped up and given us some comfort at the same time.
“I think we have a good team and we look forward to testing it when we deploy it March 27.”
Here are the takeaways from Cashman’s state of the organization with just a few days left before the Yankees break camp:
— The rotation was solidified Saturday as Cashman confirmed that the club will add Carrasco to the roster (he could have opted out of his contract on Saturday if they had not added him) and that Schmidt will not be ready to start the season on time. That means Will Warren will be the fifth starter for at least a few turns after putting together a strong camp, like Carrasco.
Schmidt, who was slowed earlier in camp by a back issue and then shoulder fatigue, threw 32 pitches in a live batting practice Thursday but needs more time to build his pitch count before joining the Yankees.
“He’s not gonna start with us on time because he just hasn’t had a spring training yet,” Cashman said. “But he’s certainly going in the right direction.”
— The biggest need the Yankees have is for a right-handed bat. As constructed, they are set to carry at least six left-handed hitters and two more switch-hitters who are better from the left side. If Dom Smith hit right-handed, he may not have had to opt out as he did on Friday (the Yankees have 72 hours to add him to the roster, but it appears unlikely because of their need for right-handed balance).
“I feel like I’d be happier if I can line up some choices for our manager,” Cashman said. “I think some choices have emerged here in camp and then it comes down to if those choices in camp are better than anything that might exist outside that you could either trade for, that you’re comfortable enough giving what it would take to get or obviously measuring that versus the options that might get the bad word in another camp they’re not making it and all of a sudden we’re competing for those services.”
Cashman echoed Aaron Boone in saying that right-handed hitting utilityman Pablo Reyes has caught his attention, giving the non-roster invitee a chance to break camp on the bench. Oswald Peraza, who is out of minor league options, also hits right-handed but is more glove than bat.
Both Reyes and Peraza could be options to platoon with Oswaldo Cabrera at third base, though it would not be surprising if the Yankees add another player to that mix who hits right-handed.
“We’re definitely keeping the phone lines open, whether it’s agents calling because their players are free and released by not making other clubs or trade conversations going on with my counterparts,” Cashman said. “I don’t think there’s a lot of heavy lifting going on in that area, but we are certainly trying to improve on the margins if those margins exist.”
— Part of the reason why the Yankees need right-handed hitting help is because Giancarlo Stanton remains out indefinitely with tennis elbow in both arms. Cashman said the veteran DH, who has undergone three rounds of PRP injections during camp, is still not conducting any baseball activities. He has not swung a bat since January.
“Certainly we’re all hopeful that we can get him back down the line, but that’s not in the near term,” Cashman said.
— In the same boat as Schmidt is Ian Hamilton, who missed time earlier in camp to deal with an infection. That delayed his Grapefruit League debut until Wednesday, so the Yankees are planning to have him stay in Tampa to build up his stamina before joining the bullpen.
That leaves three bullpen spots up for grabs, with one likely to be filled by Yoendrys Gómez, who has looked sharp this spring and is out of minor league options.
Another could go to lefty Brent Headrick, who offers some length, while other candidates include Yerry De Los Santos (who like Headrick is already on the 40-man roster) and Wilking Rodríguez.
