Well the mystery is over for New York Yankees fans. The move seems like it was coming all spring, but many fans and baseball experts hoped that Rob Refsnyder would win out and capture the second base job. Today the Yankees reassigned Refsnyder to their minor league camp along with Chase Whitley.
Roster moves: Opt. RHP Chase Whitley to @swbrailriders, reassigned INFs Nick Noonan & Rob Refsnyder & C Eddy Rodriguez to minor league camp
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) April 2, 2015
Refsnyder entered the spring as one of the hot topics for the Yankees Opening Day roster. Many wanted to see either he or Jose Pirela capture the Opening Day second base job from the recently re-signed Stephen Drew. The reality unfortunately was that when the Yanks offered Drew a $5-million to come back in 2015, the competition ended.
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Both Pirela and Refsnyder out played Drew this spring, but when push came to shove, Drew’s veteran defense won out. Pirela, who was batting .370 with five extra base hits and five RBI, lost out when he was concussed running into the center field wall.
Refsnyder slashed .333/.447/.538 with a home run and five RBI (compared to Drew’s .234/.294/.426) but should Refsnyder have stayed, he would have been in a platoon with Drew. The Yankees seemingly want Refsnyder to get regular at bats, and starting the season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders will allow for that.
When Brendan Ryan went down with injury, it opened the door for Refsnyder or Pirela to stay on as the utility player. Yesterday’s trade for career minor leaguer and infielder Gregorio Petit ended that hope as well.
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Chase Whitely was sent to SWB as well, which is a more curious move. The Yankees appear to be set on sticking with the veteran
Esmil Rogersin the swingman long relief/spot starter role. Rogers lost out yesterday to last year’s seventh inning man
Adam Warrenfor the fifth and final Opening Day rotation slot.
Whitely too outperformed his Major League replacement. He posted a 1.17 ERA while starting two games and saving a game in his only opportunity, while striking out 12 over his 15.1 innings. Rogers posted a 2.35 ERA over eight appearances (four starts) while striking out 16 over the same amount of innings.
Whitely seemed to earn his keep after filling in admirably in both the bullpen and the starting rotation when the Yankees were decimated by injury last year. The Yankees want Whitley to focus on becoming a starter instead of a bullpen piece, and clearly there was not room for him to do that in the Bronx.
While both Whitely and Refsnyder saw their Opening Day opportunity come to an end, it is not the last time the Yankees will hear from them in 2015. Expect to see both back relatively soon in the Bronx.