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TAMPA — The Yankees’ age is overt.
They have the oldest player in any camp in Mariano Rivera, 43. Andy Pettitte, 40 and Hiroki Kuroda, 38, are projected to be the majors’ oldest and fourth-oldest starters. Ichiro Suzuki, 39, and Derek Jeter, 38, likely are to be the second- and fourth-oldest starting position players.
This is the never-ending story for the 2013 Yankees — Too Many Shades of Gray. They are tired of hearing about it, tired of talking about the implications. The front office certainly is tired of criticism it has done a poor job of developing youngsters to support the aging stars.
Which is why the following statement might surprise you — it is probable that one-third of the Yankees’ roster will be comprised of homegrown players in their 20s.
None are stars of the Rivera, Pettitte and Jeter ilk, or Robinson Cano, who turned 30 last October. Instead this an eight-pack of farm-developed products who range from useful to above average, four of whom — Francisco Cervelli, Joba Chamberlain, Brett Gardner and Eduardo Nunez — were limited last year by injury, a roster squeeze or performance. No other AL East team currently projects to have more than eight homegrown twentysomethings on their 25-man rosters.
PHOTOS: YANKEES SPRING TRAINING
Each member of the Yankee octet has room to improve, which is vital considering the questions about roster depth and age. Here are thoughts on the eight (ages in parentheses):
CERVELLI (26) — He could start, back up, be traded (because he is out of options) or still face suspension due to Biogenesis ties.
As recently as 2010, Cervelli had a .359 on-base percentage in 80 starts. Something similar would make Russell Martin’s defection more tolerable.
Austin Romine, 24, also is trying to make this team. But he likely is ticketed for Triple-A since he missed most of last year with a back ailment and there still are big questions about his bat.
CHAMBERLAIN (27) — Rivera’s age and return from knee surgery make having a late-game safety net crucial. He has failed to replicate his early genius, but generally has pitched well out of the pen, including late last season as he put distance between himself and elbow/ankle surgeries.
GARDNER (29) — The Yankees’ front office loves Gardner, believing he impacts the game with speed and on-base skills while being arguably the majors’ top defensive left fielder. If you believe in advanced metrics — and the Yankees’ front office does — Gardner was one of the majors’ best players in 2010 based on WAR (Wins Above Replacement), which attempts to statistically quantify all elements of the game.
To me, Gardner is more baseball’s version of Darren Sproles, a terrific change of pace who helps as a supplemental piece, but provides diminishing returns with the more you ask. Plus, he has to prove he can stay healthy for a sustained period.
The Yankees also are auditioning for a righty-hitting outfielder to play mainly against lefties. Veterans Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera (a one-time Yankees product) begin with the edge. But the Yankees will consider Melky Mesa, 26, because they want to see if his athletic toolshed ever translates as well on offense as it already has on defense.
The more intriguing candidate is Adonis Garcia, a 27-year-old Cuban the Yankees gave $400,000 to last May. In a small sample at Double-A, Garcia produced a .928 OPS in 48 at-bats against southpaws.
Slade Heathcott, 22, has yet to play above A-ball. But scouts were wowed with his skills and ferocity in the Arizona Fall League, and the Yankees have not dismissed that the lefty hitter could come quickly — perhaps this year — to help.
PHIL HUGHES (27) — Like Chamberlain, it feels as if Hughes has gone from neophyte to walk year in an eye blink. He has been a legitimate No 3-4-type starter in two of the past three years. Can the lure of free-agent dollars and the growth of a changeup push him to, say, 200 innings and a sub-4.00 ERA for the first time as a starter?
IVAN NOVA AND DAVID PHELPS (both 26) — Nova has the edge in their fifth-starter battle despite a second-half crash last year. The loser probably becomes the long man in the pen.
Both are vital to suspect rotation depth beyond CC Sabathia, Kuroda, Pettitte and Hughes. By now the Yankees had hoped to have Michael Pineda, 24, and homegrown Manny Banuelos, 21, delivering high-end innings. But injuries have derailed both, though the Yankees believe Pineda could be a factor by June. Beyond that, the Yankees see farm products Adam Warren, 25, who had a woeful major league debut last year, and Brett Marshall, 22, providing depth, and are trying to stay optimistic about Dellin Betances, 24, whose prospect status vanished in wildness last year.
NUNEZ (25) — Jeter’s age/return from ankle surgery means Nunez should play plenty at short. I continue to believe if he played more regularly that his defense — though never rising to above average — would be less erratic and troubling. Regardless, the Yankees need to find a way to deploy his fast bat and legs to provide a much-needed energy along with Gardner to an offense that must diversify after losing about 100 homers from last year.
David Adams, 25, and lefty-swinging Corban Joseph, 24, are offense-first second basemen who could be asked to play some third as options during the year.
DAVID ROBERTSON (27) — The set-up core to Rivera mostly is prime-aged — with Chamberlain, Robertson, Cody Eppley, Shawn Kelley and Boone Logan all 27 or 28. Robertson could be the heir apparent to Rivera, but he has yet to show the temperament for the job in cameos.
Because of high strikeout totals in the minors due to his wipeout slider, Mark Montgomery, 22, has drawn comparisons to Robertson and is positioned for a quick call up. Two other Yankees draft picks, Preston Claiborne (who tops out at 95 mph) and Chase Whitley (94 with a strong changeup) are on the radar, too.