The New York Yankees open their 2012 regular-season schedule April 6 in Tampa vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. Between now and then there are not many roster decisions remaining to be made. In truth, there never were many to be made right from the beginning.
Still, there are 29 players remaining on the active roster as of Wednesday morning. So, let’s look at how the Opening Day roster will likely break down.
Starting Pitching
CC Sabathia
Hiroki Kuroda
Ivan Nova
Michael Pineda
Phil Hughes
The Yankees have not officially announced it yet, but it would be a stunner if Hughes were sent to the bullpen and Freddy Garcia was left in the rotation. Things will get really interesting when Andy Pettitte is ready to rejoin the team a month or so after the season begins.
Bullpen
Mariano Rivera
David Robertson
Rafael Soriano
Boone Logan
Cory Wade
Clay Rapada
Freddy Garcia
Rapada has earned the final bullpen spot with 8.1 shutout innings over nine spring appearances.
Catchers
Russell Martin
Francisco Cervelli
Austin Romine had an outside shot at unseating Cervelli for the backup job, but a back injury sidelined him and he never got any spring at-bats.
Infield
Mark Teixeira
Robinson Cano
Derek Jeter
Alex Rodriguez
Eduardo Nunez
Eric Chavez
This has been etched in stone since the beginning. Only an injury would change it.
Outfield
Curtis Granderson
Nick Swisher
Brett Gardner
Andruw Jones
Raul Ibanez
Injuries to Swisher and Granderson are cause for concern. Ibanez has had an awful spring, and is likely on a short leash as the left-handed hitting designated hitter.