Rosters expand from 26 to 28 players on Sept. 1, meaning Tuesday’s game will be the final one the Yankees will play with only 26.
It may seem like tough timing for the Bombers, as they have their series and road trip finale in Anaheim Wednesday before an off-day Thursday, but it seems as if the Yankees have a plan – and it’s not necessarily “add two players for the sake of it.”
“Flo (Estevan Florial) and (Brooks) Kriske are with us on the taxi squad, and Albert Abreu is still here too, although he’s not eligible to come back yet unless there’s an injury,” manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday night, intimating that an outfielder and a right-hander might be the easy additions.
However, the Yankees have been very conscious of the luxury tax threshold this year – they were able to get the Rangers, Angels, and Cubs to eat salary to acquire Joey Gallo, Andrew Heaney, and Anthony Rizzo – and given that adding two players Wednesday would mean two extra days’ worth of salary for one game, it may not be in their best financial interest if the roster reinforcements aren’t needed.
Boone’s final statement on the roster matter played into that notion.
“We’ll see where we are as the end of the game unfolds tonight,” the skipper said.
Listen to New York sports talk now on Audacy and shop the latest Yankees team gear!
Regardless of what happens Wednesday, the Yankees do expect to make a roster move Friday: the team expects Gleyber Torres to return from the IL after missing nearly a month with a sprained thumb.
Torres has played two rehab games so far, playing seven innings both times; he homered and walked twice in his first game Sunday with Double-A Somerset, then was 0-for-3 in Game 1 of Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s doubleheader on Tuesday.
Boone noted that the plan is for Torres to play nine innings for SWB on Wednesday, then take the off day with the Yankees on Thursday before being activated Friday.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
