As I asked earlier this month, why were the Yankees waiting so long to make Brett Gardner a member of the 40 man roster in the 2020 campaign? Well, they finally did it. But they went about it in the most convoluted and more difficult fashion.
They DFAed a Player Rather Than The Logical Approach
Moving Aaron Hicks to the IL was the logical approach to make room for Brett Gardner for the 2020 season. But… they defied Vulcan logic. Instead, they decided to DFA left-hander Stephen Tarpley to make room for the return of the Gardy Party. Again, you move a player to the IL, it clears a spot on the 40 man roster for whomever you want. But they decided to get complicated rather than do the obvious simple thing.
Why Moving Hicks to the IL Was the Simple Thing
The Yankees HAVE to have a 40 man roster full of 40 players. They aren’t allowed to have 39 players active on the team until Hicks comes back to the big club. But, I see some logic to DFAing Tarpley. 2020 sees the beginning of the “a relief pitcher HAS to face 3 batters or finish an inning” rule, implemented by the Commissioners office. Tarpley was brought in to face left-handed batters somewhat exclusively. I’ve believed for a long time if you can’t get left-handed hitters AND right-handed hitters out as a major league pitcher, you are wasting a spot on the 40 man roster.
But who’s going to fill Hicks’s spot on the 40 until Hicks can come back from rehab? The Yankees HAVE to answer this question sooner rather than later. Cutting a player later in the year to accommodate Hicks (in lets say August) makes more sense than effectively cutting a player now, still a month before pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training. The Yankees, for whatever reason, have decided “Complicated position moves are how we want to operate” for the longest time now. And it still baffles me, about a decade later.
Just stop screwing around with the psyche of your pitching staff. You’ll have stronger starting pitchers and relievers as a result.