Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Option Deivi García, Luis Gil to Triple-A; What it Means For Opening Day Roster

Four players in contention for a big-league roster spot were sent to Triple-A on Monday afternoon.

Max Goodman

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TAMPA — While the Yankees were on the field for their penultimate exhibition game of spring training, New York made an official announcement regarding four players in contention for an Opening Day roster spot.

Right-handers Deivi García and Luis Gil, left-hander Manny Bañuelos and outfielder Ender Inciarte will all start the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the team announced. 

García and Gil were both optioned to Triple-A and are expected to pitch in the RailRiders' rotation, continuing to develop as starting pitchers. New York assigned Bañuelos and Inciarte—both non-roster invitees at Yankees camp—to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

With those four assets off the table for New York's Opening Day roster, the following players are still eligible to hold a spot on the Yankees' 28-man roster ahead of Thursday's regular season opener:

  • RHP Clarke Schmidt
  • LHP JP Sears
  • RHP Ron Marinaccio
  • IF/OF Miguel Andújar
  • IF/OF Marwin Gonzalez
  • OF Tim Locastro

Of that group listed above, Gonzalez is the only player not on New York's 40-man roster. That means, the Yankees would need to make a corresponding move in order to create an open slot for the utility man.

New York's starting rotation is set, so if Schmidt makes the big-league club, he'll be pitching out of the 'pen. Same goes for Sears, who started Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies at George M. Steinbrenner Field. 

Schmidt came in from the bullpen on Sunday in Dunedin, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing two runs with five strikeouts in a loss to the Blue Jays.

Marinaccio has pitched strictly in relief in his minor league career, flashing his elite stuff this spring over five scoreless appearances. With an abbreviated spring, New York is pressed to eat up innings and make sure all members of their pitching staff build up and don't get hurt in the first month of the regular season. 

Bañuelos was magnificent this spring, striking out seven over six scoreless frames, but the Yankees inevitably decided to choose from those already on the 40-man roster.

Locastro and Gonzalez appear to be the front runners to make the big-league roster, bringing some versatility to New York's bench. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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