The Offseason Begins

Last night was a tough loss for the Yankees, and with it, the speculation begins as to what the Yankees will do to prepare for the 2012 season.

For starters, let's look at the guys, minus a trade or an injury, who will be guaranteed to be on the roster to start next season.

1. Derek Jeter
2. Robinson Cano (technically has to have his option picked up, an obvious no brainer)
3. Mark Teixeira
4. Alex Rodriguez
5. Curtis Granderson
6. Brett Gardner
7. Eduardo Nunez
8. AJ Burnett
9. Phil Hughes
10. Ivan Nova
11. Mariano Rivera
12. David Robertson
13. Boone Logan
14. Rafael Soriano (unless he opts out, which would be a surprise)
15. Cory Wade

In addition to those guys, we have Martin. I would assume he'll be kept by the Yankees. While they only signed him to a one year deal, Martin is not eligible for free agency until after 2012, as he was previously nontendered by the Dodgers. I imagine he stays with the Yankees, but I put him seperately just in case.

16. Russell Martin

You also have Nick Swisher, who has a relatively cheap option. A few people are completely overreacting to a few small sample size games in October. Swisher had a rough start to the year but picked it up quite a bit after that. Especially considering the lack of good free agent outfielders aside from Carlos Beltran, this seems like an obvious move.

17. Nick Swisher

Jorge Posada is almost certainly gone now, after a great and underrated career with the Yankees. Assuming that is the case, it also seems obvious Jesus Montero will take his spot on the roster (again, barring a trade) as the full time DH and perhaps occasional catcher in an emergency.

18. Jesus Montero

I left Francisco Cervelli off the definites only as a "just in case", since he hasn't exactly been amazing, but he has been the backup catcher, Austin Romine isn't ready, and I find it unlikely they'd make Jesus Montero the backup catcher and still have him DH every day.

19. Francisco Cervelli

That leaves only 6 open roster spots...the starting nine is essentially already filled, assuming Martin and Swisher return and Montero is the DH. The backup infield spot and backup catcher are filled as well. That leaves two bench players (one backup outfielder, one other), two bullpen spots, and two starting pitching spots. There aren't nearly as many open spots as people may think. The bullpen spots could be filled by virtually anyone...Joba may fill one shortly after the season starts if he's healthy by then, the Yankees could sign a long man who could also start in case of injuries, they could try signing another lefty again (assuming Feliciano can't pitch), or they could just call someone up from the minors. The core of the bullpen remains intact. As for bench spots, I'd try hard to resign Jones, he can play left field adequately and he can hit lefties really well. For the last bench spot, I'd look for someone who can play third and hit a little bit, ideally.

I'll cover the starting pitcher spots in another post.