Yankees: Increased depth with the September roster expansion

The New York Yankees have been riddled with injuries as of late, but they were able to increase their depth due to September call-ups.  We have the information on the players that were added to the roster for the stretch run.

Although the New York Yankees have seen Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorius, Aroldis Chapman, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jordan Montgomery, Clint Frazier, and many more all land on the disabled list this season, they are on pace to win 100 games or more this season.  As important pieces such as Judge, Gregorius, and Chapman still remain on the disabled list, the organization made moves to increase its depth between August 31st and September 1st.

According to the Yankees Public Relations department on Twitter, Andrew McCutchen was acquired from the San Francisco Giants and Adeiny Hechavarria was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The team also made a minor league signing of pinch runner extraordinaire Quintin Berry.

According to Jack Curry of the YES Network on Twitter, the Yankees added McCutchen and Hechavarria to the roster, promoted Stephen Tarpley, Luis Cessa, and Tyler Wade, and activated Sanchez from the disabled list.  The team also designated Robinson and Ryan Bollinger for assignment to make room for their new 40-man roster additions (McCutchen and Hechavarria).

As Ellsbury is out for the season and the timeframe on a return for both Judge and Frazier are unknown, it was vital for the team to find an outfield upgrade prior to September 1st.  Although Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, and Giancarlo Stanton would be a formidable outfield, Stanton has been playing through an injury, so he has primarily been the Yankees DH.  This has left Aaron Boone to need to pencil in Neil Walker in an unfamiliar position of right field as well as use a very unproductive Shane Robinson in both outfield corners.

McCutchen will provide the Yankees with a veteran bat that was already placed into the lead off role in the batting order and in right field on defense in his first game with the team.  If Judge is able to return, and no other outfielders are injured, McCutchen will still be an upgrade over Gardner on the offensive side.  This is especially true if the Yankees matchup with the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS and have to face their many tough left-handed starting pitchers.

Another important aspect of McCutchen joining the team is the experience he has in the Wild Card game.  During his time with the Pirates, he played in three one-game playoffs.  Even though his team lost all three of those games, he held a .400 batting average and a .538 on-base percentage through 13 plate appearances.  As the Yankees may end up facing the Oakland Athletics in the AL Wild Card game, it is also worth noting that McCutchen holds a .383 on-base percentage in 60 career plate appearances against them.

Hechavarria does not provide much of an upgrade on offense, however, he was most likely acquired for his well-known defensive ability.  While Gregorius has been on the disabled list, Torres and Ronald Torreyes have filled in at shortstop with Walker filling in at second base.  With Hechavarria, Torres can move back to second base, Torreyes can shift back to a bench role, and Walker can return to his versatile everyday role by filling in at first base, third base, and second base while others get a day of rest.

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Although the Yankees signed Berry to be a potential pinch runner later this season, Wade is up now to fill that role.  In his first game since being called up, he pinch ran for Luke Voit late in the game and stole a base.  He also showed his defensive versatility by playing both third base and second base in the game.  The infield additions allowed Boone to also insert Hechavarria late in the game at shortstop, move Torres to second base, and shift Wade to third in order to remove Miguel Andujar, who struggles on defense, after he already compiled 4 plate appearances.

Tarpley and Cessa will give the Yankees much-needed bullpen depth after they traded Chasen Shreve and Adam Warren prior to the trade deadline.  Although Sonny Gray has been shifted to a long-man role in the bullpen, there is always room for more relief pitchers in the event of a mid-game injury, a struggling starter, or a game that enters extra innings.  Zach Britton is currently the only left-handed reliever in the bullpen, so Tarpley will give Boone another left-hander to use in certain matchups.

Top prospect Justus Sheffield was moved to the bullpen to prepare for a September call-up, but he has in his move to the bullpen, so it remains to be seen if he will be called up or not.  Regardless, the Yankees are hopeful that Chapman, Judge, and Gregorius will be able to return prior to the postseason.  Although the team is currently seven games behind the Red Sox with six head-to-head matchups remaining, they are likely headed for a one-game Wild Card playoff against the A’s.

These added pieces will help them secure a Wild Card spot and could potentially help them win the division if the Red Sox struggle down the stretch.  Another important note for the Yankees is that they were able to stay under their luxury tax goal even after adding J.A. Happ, Lance Lynn, Britton, McCutchen, and more over the summer to improve the team.  Through 136 games, the Yankees are 86-50, so they would only need to go 14-12 to win 100 games despite all of the injuries as well.  This should be quite the interesting September for Boone’s Bombers as they look to reach the playoffs with this revamped roster.