On Saturday, Dan Giese was DFA’d in order to free up a spot on the 40-man roster. Today, Giese was actually claimed by Oakland  and was optioned to their Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento (he’s still on their 40-man, though, so hopefully he’ll get another opportunity with the A’s).

Throughout the day, I will be looking at the battles for the final spots on the Yankees roster: the last reliever, the battle for CF, and the utility infielder fight. I’ll start with the 7th reliever.

As of now, it seems clear that Mariano Rivera, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez, and Phil Coke will make the opening day roster barring injury. It was assumed for most of spring training that the Yankees would carry a long reliever to fill that final slot, with Dan Giese, Alfredo Aceves, and Brett Tomko being the candidates. However, Joe Girardi suggested this afternoon that the battle for the final relief spot is more complicated than that:

So it looks like Joe Girardi may not take a long reliever after all.
This morning at 8:30 a.m., Girardi talked about the competition between Brett Tomko, Dan Giese and Alfredo Aceves, discussing the importance of today’s game since all three were pitching.
But when someone asked Girardi if the rest of the bullpen was pretty much settled, the manager said something interesting.
“Albaladejo has pitched great,” Girardi said.
At first, I thought maybe Albaladejo was in the mix for a spot we all assumed would go to Jose Veras or Edwar Ramirez, but after the game, it all became a lot clearer. Albaladejo, who can pitch two innings at a time, could combine with Phil Coke to form a long-man committee of sorts. All of a sudden, Tomko, Giese and Aceves weren’t only competing with each other, but with Albaladejo as well.

Let’s look at the spring numbers for the four candidates:

1. A Aceves 4.60ERA, 15.2IP, 14H, 8ER, 4HR, 6BB, 7SO
2. D Giese 6.89ERA 15.2IP, 22H, 12ER, 5HR, 4BB, 17SO
3. B Tomko 1.17ERA, 15.1IP, 12H, 2ER, 1HR, 2BB, 12SO
4. J Albaladejo 0.93ERA, 9.2IP, 8H, 1ER, 0HR, 1BB, 8SO

To me, that looks like a two man race. Giese has shown himself to be an all or nothing type, allowing plenty of hits and home runs while striking out the most batters. Aceves has been decent, but has walked too many batters and has allowed too many home runs. The Yankees may take one of the previous two due to last season’s performance and their potential to be better than a known commodity than Tomko, but I think the wide disparity in performances makes that unlikely.

Looking at Tomko and Albaladejo, both clearly deserve to make the roster. However, the decision between them will come down to a philosophical one: does the team need a long reliever or not? If the Yankees think that the multiple innings that they can get from Bruney, Coke, and Albie make a long man superfluous, then Albie will win the job. Personally, I hated that they went without a long man at the start of last season and jerked Albie and Ross Ohlendorf around as to their roles. With Joba on an innings limit, the Yankees might be better served giving Tomko a shot to start the season. Albaladejo will get his chance eventually.

What do you think?

Notable performances from the Yankees 8-3 defeat at the hands of the Phillies earlier today:

1) Brian Bruney continued his putrid spring, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits, on of which was a home run by Mat Stairs, in one inning. He also notched two strikeouts, and thankfully was able to avoid the base on balls. According to Pete Abe, Bruney’s job is not in danger, but Joe Girardi has mentioned that Brian really needs to get it going. Bruney may be assured of a roster spot, but I could see him losing his hold on the 8th inning if he does not string together some decent performances.

2) Nick Swisher was not thrilled with Girardi’s decision to go with Xavier Nady in right field, but he seems to have a good attitude about the whole thing:

“This is a great team and we have an opportunity to do some wonderful things this year. I want to be a part of that; I want to win. Coming over here, that was the biggest thing, I want to win. But I also want to be a part. I’ve played every day pretty much my whole career. I think there’s going to be a lot of at-bats out there for me. I’ve got to be ready when I’m told I’m ready to play.
“I don’t know how to put it. I don’t know how I’m feeling or whatever. I just know I want to be in there everyday. That’s it, that’s what I can say.”

As Nick rightly noted, I am sure that he will get in excess of 400 at bats, as the Yankees will need to use him liberally to account for age and injuries in their outfield.

3) John Rodriguez went 1-1 with an RBI, and is hitting .350/.480/.500 this spring in a pinch hitting role. He is unlikely to break camp with the club, but he may get a shot as a lefty bat off the bench at some point in 2009. He has a 110 OPS+ in 332 career MLB AB’s, making him a decent option to fill in for a few weeks in case of injury at a corner outfield spot.

4) Dan Giese pitched poorly again, allowing three runs, including a HR by immortal Miguel Cairo, in just one inning of work. In contrast, Brett Tomko supplied a shutout inning, dropping his spring ERA to 1.46. If the Yankees decide to take a long man north, it would be hard to justify taking anyone but Tomko, even if it will take some maneuvering of the roster.

Chase Wright, one of the Yankees few left handed pitching prospects and # 26 on EJ’s top 30 prospects list, was designated for assignment to make room for Andy Pettitte on the 40 man roster (Pete Abe). The Yankees likely had to choose between Chase and Dan Giese, and felt that Giese was a better bet to help the team in 2009.

Wright is a better prospect than most Yankees fans would give him credit for, as giving up four consecutive home runs to the hated Red Sox on national television is likely to skew opinions about a pitcher’s abilities. Wright pitched very well at both AA and AAA last season, and should be able to give the Yankees or some other MLB club decent numbers out of the bullpen right now.  Although I hope that he passes through waivers, I find it more likely that some pitching starved NL team will nab him.