Opening Day for the Yankees is less than two weeks away and Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone and company will have to decide on what the Bombers’ roster will look like. There are still eight games left on the Yankees’ spring training schedule and things could still change between now and then.
The biggest question remains around the starting shortstop job and whether or not the Yankees keep Anthony Volpe up with the big club. Injuries have also taken away some of the intrigue around the battle for a rotation spot.
With that in mind, amNewYork took a shot at projecting what the Yankees Opening Day roster could look like.
2023 Yankees Opening Day roster projection
Catcher
- Jose Trevino
Jose Trevino is returning from his sprained wrist and he is expected to play on Tuesday and Thursday this week. He missed time during the spring due to the injury, but he expected to be ready for Opening Day later this month. Not much of a surprise that Trevino will be back behind the plate as the Bombers’ starting catcher this year after he was named an American League All-Star and won a Gold Glove last season.
Infielders
- 1B- Anthony Rizzo
- 2B- Gleyber Torres
- 3B- Josh Donaldson
- SS- Oswald Peraza
This one will sting a little for Yankees fans hoping to see Volpe out there on the field on Opening Day, but despite an impressive spring the most likely scenario remains that he starts down in Triple-A, That’s the bad news, the good news is it would be hard to imagine that he stays down there for too long and the Yanks could eventually after they manipulate Volpe’s service time to get an extra year of control of him.
Outside of Volpe, we have Peraza winning the starting shortstop job to start the season and keeping Donaldson on the field at third. While Donaldson’s season left a lot to be desired last year, the Yankees seem committed to giving him another chance to bounce back this season.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, not surprisingly, isn’t noted here for obvious reasons after the spring. The Bombers are trying to turn him into a utility player, but the odds are still that the team could move him before the start of the season.
Outfielders
- LF- Aaron Hicks
- CF- Aaron Judge
- RF- Oswaldo Cabrera
At least to start the season this is how things could shake out. Aaron Hicks will be your starting left fielder and Judge will get time in center while Harrison Bader is on the mend. Don’t be surprised to see Judge get playing time in left on occasion once Bader is healthy again either. Cabera, the Yankees’ ultimate utility man, will get the nod in right to start, but that could be a space we see Giancarlo Stanton a little more often since he’s said in the past that he feels he hits better when he also plays the field. Aaron Boone said over the spring that he may have to get creative with his outfield and early on that could hold very true.
Designated Hitter
- Giancarlo Stanton
Stanton should be the main DH again even if the Yankees work him into more games in the outfield. He’s struggled to stay healthy during his time in New York and has only appeared in 290 of a possible 546 games over his time with the Yanks. He is coming off a yer where he hit .211 with 31 homers and 78 RBIs. Judge should get some time in the DH slot — as he has had in the past — as the Yankees try to protect their massive investment into the slugger.
Bench
- DJ LeMahieu
- Kyle Higashioka
- Estevan Florial
- Rafael Ortega
Starting Rotation
- Gerrit Cole, RHP
- Luis Severino, RHP
- Domingo German, RHP
- Clarke Schmidt, RHP
- Nestor Cortes, LHP
This one is pretty cut and dry after the Yankees lost Carlos Rodon to an injury that will have him on the injured list to start the year. German and Schmidt were competing for the one open spot on the rotation this spring due to an injury to Frankie Montas, but once Rodon went down it essentially guaranteed both a place. The Yankees are counting on Severino to regain his form and Cortes finds himself lower in the rotation in order to give him more time to be fully ready from a hamstring injury.
Relief Pitchers
- Clay Holmes, RHP
- Wandy Peralta, LHP
- Mike King, RHP
- Jonathan Loáisiga, RHP
- Ron Marinaccio, RHP
- Albert Abreu, RHP
- Matt Krook, LHP
- Jimmy Cordero, RHP
