September has arrived which means baseball teams are now able to make call ups in order to beef up the roster for a run at the playoffs. The New York Yankees are a team looking to adjust their player personnel as they battle the Toronto Blue Jays for the American League East lead. After opting to not make moves at the trade or waiver deadlines, the Yankees are finally bringing back Rob Refsnyder to compete for an infielder position.
General manager Brian Cashman stayed put at the deadlines and will now see if that pays off in the postseason. The Yankees were linked to all kinds of trade rumors including deals for David Price, Chase Utley and Johnny Cueto. They had trade requests from players like Jose Reyes and denied all of them. Instead, the Yankees announced a round of September call-ups on Monday via the team website and Refsnyder is making his return to the Bronx, but what will his role on the team be?
Refsnyder drew a lot of praise from Yankees' fans fter he played in four games this season. The biggest question is whether his return to the field means the exit of Stephen Drew. Manager Joe Girardi has made it clear that he likes Drew and believes he is the best player for the second baseman job over Brendan Ryan or Refsnyder, but will his poor stats change that stance? According to NJ.com, the likely outcome is a rotational deal in order for Refsnyder to prove himself over Drew or Ryan.
The Yankees also have concerns with the starting pitching rotation, but maintain their faith in their options. CC Sabathia is one of those concerns as he avoided a major knee injury, but is still struggling on the mound. Currently sitting on the disabled list, ESPNNewYork.com is reporting that Sabathia will be back in the lineup after throwing 30 pitches in a bullpen session. Cashman told the media that the best option is to put Sabathia back in the starting rotation and whether or not that is a relief to fans is debatable.
The Yankees have capitalized on the rise of Luis Severino who was ruled untradeable at the deadline. He is proving to be a consistent option along with Nathan Eovaldi. Will they be enough to hold up the struggles of Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda in the postseason?
