Yankees announce four roster moves, As they near finishing the 26-man roster

A rotation struggle in camp came to an end when Aaron Boone declared that Luis Gil would start for the New York Yankees as they break for Houston on Opening Day. The Yankees would move Will Warren to Minor League camp after he lost that match, and he would most likely start the season in Triple-A with the Scranton RailRiders. The Yankees announced that in addition to reassigning Warren, they would also be sending Cody Poteet, Ron Marinaccio, and Nick Ramirez to Triple-A to start the season.

The Yankees are deciding on their final roster before the 2024 regular season, and there are still some bullpen struggles going on despite the ongoing roster cutbacks.

With Will Warren and Luis Gil vying for the last rotation place, the Yankees had a difficult decision to make regarding their fifth starter. The Yankees needed someone to support the back half of their rotation after Gerrit Cole got hurt, and Gil came out of training with a bang, striking out more than three-quarters of the batters he saw with a power fastball. Despite being rather strong during Spring Training, Warren—who depends on his ability to keep the ball on the ground—was unable to outrun the flamethrower.

Warren didn’t make the team out of camp, despite our ranking him as the organization’s seventh-best prospect. However, they plan to employ him as a depth starter. The Yankees wanted to stretch him out in case of an injury over the following two weeks, so they weren’t thinking of using him as a reliever. Among the bullpen layoffs we witnessed was Ron Marinaccio, who made a big splash as a rookie in 2022 with his terrific changeup, but he has since struggled with command.

After pitching 8.1 innings and giving up seven walks against seven strikeouts, he had a 7.56 ERA, which was too high to earn a spot on the squad. He also gave up two home runs. In Triple-A, the right-hander will have an opportunity to heal and, ideally, take the necessary steps to earn a call up to the Major Leagues should the Yankees experience another bullpen injury. One of them optioned was Nick Ramirez, the Yankees’ underappreciated reliever from the previous season, who helped them add left-handed depth to their bullpen.

Although he posted a respectable 4.35 ERA, the Yankees now have enough of middle-inning relievers, so he’s more of a depth arm. The Yankees anticipate using him throughout the season when players get hurt and worn out, but they are aiming to use him more as an emergency relief rather than a regular weapon. Luis Gil prevailed over Cody Poteet, who was also vying for the fifth starting position, because of his poor performance in his last appearance against the Tigers. He’ll remain stretched thin in Triple-A, where they’ll be counting on him to be ready for anything.

For the last bullpen positions, players like Clayton Beeter, Dennis Santana, and Nick Burdi are still in the running, so it’s unclear who the Bronx Bombers will open the season with.