WHICH WAY WILL I GO? Yankes manager Joe Girardi will have tough decisions to make regarding playing time and the 25-man roster once star players return from injury. (
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Joe Girardi is building Manager of the Year credentials one shorthanded day after another.
It is not only that the Yankees had the third-most disabled-list stints (11) and second-most days lost (306) in the majors entering the weekend, but just to increase the degree of difficulty there have been times when Kevin Youkilis, David Robertson and Eduardo Nunez were unavailable for long stretches, yet kept off the DL and on the 25-man roster.
This has forced Girardi to mix, match and ask Francisco Cervelli to play second, Robinson Cano to play short and Vernon Wells to play third. None ever had done so before in the majors. Then again, Ichiro Suzuki never had started a game hitting fifth or sixth prior to this season, and now he does one or the other rather routinely.
But here comes the irony: By surviving — heck, thriving at times — through the devastation, the Yankees soon may have too many options, not too few. Girardi certainly would sign up for that over his current plight. Still, with a return to health by their phalanx of injured, the Yankees will face tough decisions as far as who stays on the 25-man roster and who plays daily.
Brian Cashman did not want to delve into the “what ifs” that could be on the horizon. He said, “who knows who else might get hurt or set back or might be hot or cold?”
Here at Hardball, though, we don’t mind a good game of roster/playing-time roulette, and with Curtis Granderson (fractured forearm) potentially the first domino back this week, let’s spin the wheel:
GRAND DESIGN
Granderson is playing multiple outfield positions during his Triple-A rehab, and it is not to fulfill a bucket list requirement. The Yankees believe they are better off defensively with Brett Gardner in center. Plus, it will make it easier to maneuver four outfielders (Granderson, Gardner, Wells, Suzuki) into three spots if Granderson can play all around.
Cashman said he who is productive will play. But Girardi also will have to juggle egos — Suzuki only has been a full-timer, while Wells probably believes he has played himself into full-time play and not just at-bats against lefty starters. No matter what the Yankees should benefit from a better bench with at least one of the four outfielders there daily. Also, they can avoid overplaying Suzuki and Wells — the oldest and third-oldest starting outfielders in the AL.
The first casualty when Granderson returns almost certainly will be fellow lefty-swinger Brennan Boesch, who does have an option left and will be stashed at Triple-A in case another emergency arises.
OVER AND OUT?
Cashman conceded that Lyle Overbay’s productivity has helped the organization go “methodically” in letting Mark Teixeira heal from a partial tear in his wrist. The interpretation should be this: The Yankees are not just going to have Teixeira play three or four games on a rehab. They may use most, if not all, of a 30-day clock.
“We are going to make sure he is strong and healthy and pain free,” Cashman said.
That is because Jose Bautista had a similar injury last year, missed 5 ½ weeks, did just two rehab games, played two major league games and then needed surgery anyway. The Yankees can’t have this with Teixeira because they might have to designate for assignment their security blanket, Overbay, when Teixeira returns. For it is not impossible to have Teixeira, Overbay and never-play-the-field Travis Hafner on a 25-man roster at the same time, but it would cripple Girardi’s maneuverability yet again.
PITCHING IN
The Yankees had rotation depth concerns in the Spring. And it still is not pretty if they have to cope with an extended loss of CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda or Andy Pettitte. But the Yankees suddenly have more back-end options than first perceived.
The most interesting potential piece is Michel Pineda, who is coming back from shoulder surgery. He is getting closer to beginning a 30-day rehab and he has options if the Yankees want to keep him in the minors. David Phelps continues to press Ivan Nova for the full-time fifth starter’s role. For the third straight year, the Yankees have elevated a minor league starter to the long relief/spot starter role with success with Adam Warren following Hector Noesi and Phelps.
Vidal Nuno, like Warren, has come up and done enough in the bullpen to suggest he will not crumble if needed to make a few starts. The Yankees believe the same about Triple-A starter Brett Marshall, but not yet about Chien-Ming Wang, who the organization believes must further refine his secondary stuff to make a diminished sinker work in the majors. Chris Bootcheck might be this year’s Dustin Moseley — a veteran righty/former first-round pick whose career is reviving at Triple-A with the Yankees.
RELIEF WELL
Preston Claiborne has capitalized on opportunity and positioned himself to stay even after Joba Chamberlain (oblique) returns from the DL. Also, Cesar Cabral (stress fracture left elbow) is nearing a rehab assignment. The Yankees love his left arm, but once he is eligible the Yankees must keep him on the 25-man roster or lose him because he either has to be offered back
to the Red Sox as a Rule 5 pick or he can make himself a free agent since he has been selected twice in the Rule 5 process.
With full health, the Yankees bullpen could look something like this: Mariano Rivera closing; Robertson, Chamberlain and Claiborne as righty setup men; Boone Logan and Cabral from the left side; and Phelps as the long man (assuming Nova in the rotation). That would put Shawn Kelley, Mark Montgomery, Dellin Betances (just switched to the pen), Warren and Nuno as Triple-A alternatives.
DESIGNATED ISSUES
Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have the kind of advanced age/serious injury combo that makes their returns iffy. But should they actually make it back early in the second half, the Yankees are going to be beset by questions of how much they can play the field. If the answer is not much, then are there enough DH at-bats for Jeter, A-Rod and Hafner? Are there enough 25-man roster spots to have Jeter and A-Rod plus infield protection with Kevin Youkilis, Jayson Nix and Nunez?
Considering what he has dealt with so far, Girardi probably can’t wait to figure it out.
joel.sherman@nypost.com