Joe Girardi is on record as saying that the best 12 pitchers in camp will make the 25-man roster. 12 spots aka 5 in the rotation, and 7 men in the bullpen. The importance of his “best 12″ statement is that Joe isn’t looking for guys that fit specific roles, and he will take 12 men, as opposed to 11 or 13.
CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Javier Vazquez. That’s 4.
Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Chan Ho Park, Damaso Marte, Alfredo Aceves. Total is up to 9.
Then when Joba wins the 5th man spot, he’s number 10. Hughsie will move to the ‘pen for spot 11. That leaves one spot to be fought over in a good old fashioned Spring Training cage match between Sergio Mitre, Chad Gaudin, Mark Melancon, Ivan Nova, Boone Logan, Romulo Sanchez, Hector Noesi, Christian Garcia, Wilkin de la Rosa, Jon Albaladejo, Dustin Moseley, Kevin Whelan, Royce Ring, and Amaury Sanit. Yeah, that’s a lot of names.
Now, Girardi has talked about the benefits of having a second lefty in the ‘pen (likely Ring or Logan), but if he is going to take the best 12 pitchers in camp up to the Bronx, I’d say Gaudin’s the favorite, Melanc0n and Nova the close contenders, Sanit an interesting longshot, and Moseley safe, veteran insurance. Let’s remember though, that if Gaudin sticks on the roster he’ll make almost $3mm, which is a lot for the last reliever on a ballclub. Since Melancon is allegedly the heir to Mariano, it’d be nice to see him develop into a set-up man at the big league level this year. Aside from the 5th outfielder spot, this is the biggest make-it-or-break-it fight in camp. Melancon, Nova, and Sanit have the highest upside, while Ring and Logan will come in handy against the Twins’ lefty-heavy lineup, and Gaudin, Moseley, and Mitre are likely to give you league average innings and stamina. It’ll all come down to what Manager Joe sees as the most valuable thing to have in a bullpen.
