With less than a week remaining until pitchers and catchers report to Tampa, Brian Cashman appears ready to dance with the group of players he already has under contract.
The Yankees still have a few question marks as spring training nears — most notably at third base and backup catcher — but in an interview with the YES Network that aired Thursday, Cashman made it sound as if they will try to fill those holes with their internal options before they reach into the free-agent or trade market.
As the roster currently stands, the Yankees are set to have a camp competition between Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, DJ LeMahieu and Jorbit Vivas for third base — or second base, as Cashman left the door open for Jazz Chisholm Jr. to bounce between the two positions depending on who is pitching that day.
“I don’t know how it’s going to play out,” Cashman said. “I do think we can have one of these candidates emerge or multiple guys emerge into a platoon situation at worst, or a solo shot at best. If not, there’s always the marketplace to play around with as we move forward, too.”
The Yankees did most of the heavy lifting on their roster in December, but since then a number of potential infield options have signed elsewhere.
The Cardinals are still trying to trade veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado while lower-priced free agents remain available, but for now the Yankees appear hopeful that an internal solution will declare itself.
“Obviously, between Peraza, Cabrera, DJ LeMahieu, Vivas, we’re going to have some guys taking some reps trying to earn a spot, whether it’s at second or third,” Cashman said. “The flexibility and athleticism that Jazz provides gives us the ample opportunity to play it out. I’ll be comfortable when somebody solidifies that, whether it’s a platoon situation or a solo shot.”
Along the way, Cashman also noted that he acquired Chisholm last summer to be the Yankees’ second baseman the rest of the year, but Gleyber Torres was “unwilling” to move to third (Torres said bluntly at the time, “I’m a second baseman. I play second.”)
As for the backup to Austin Wells, Cashman called nonroster invite Alex Jackson (part of the return for Jose Trevino, along with high-strikeout reliever Fernando Cruz) “a great defensive catcher” who “fits the prototypical role of a backup and he has been a major league backup already.”
He also referenced younger catchers “pushing up the ranks” — he was not named, but J.C. Escarra is on the 40-man roster and has fans within the organization.
“I’m comfortable we have some guys that, with some growing pains, could be really good for us and could be really good for us right out of the gate,” Cashman said.
In the meantime, the Yankees have been trying to find a taker for Marcus Stroman, who projects as the club’s sixth starter, though Cashman said he is a better pitcher than what he showed in a rough second half last year.
“Ultimately, I feel like we as a team let him down with what we did behind him [defensively] in his starts,” Cashman said. “Not sure what can transpire. He’s here [in Tampa] and looking forward to him contributing like he did last year.”
