The LoHud Yankees Blog

Just a few thoughts through the middle of March…

The rotation looks alright
It’s too early to know anything for certain, but so far so good for the Yankees patchwork rotation. A.J. Burnett has shown much-needed consistency, and the back-of-the-rotation competition has been strong. If just one of Colon, Freddy Garcia, Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre can become a reliable fourth starter, the Yankees could have a solid group. The rotation concerns won’t be silenced in spring training, but they’ve grown a little quieter in these first few weeks.

Russell Martin fits the mold
There is something to be said for a calming presence behind the plate, and Martin seems to have brought that to Yankees camp. Pitchers say they like throwing to him, and he has an easy personality that seems to be a positive in the clubhouse. This job might not be his for long, but for a Yankees team in transition, Martin has been a good fit at catcher. His hip and knee have not been a problem, and if Montero weren’t here, the Yankees might be looking at both Jesus Montero and Austin Romine trying to learn on the job in the big leagues.

Eric Chavez is going to make this team
As long as he doesn’t hurt himself, it’s become pretty clear that Chavez is a heavy favorite to make the Yankees bench. He’s a perfect fit as a left-handed hitter who can play the corners, but Chavez needed to show something this spring. He looks good at the plate, he looks comfortable enough at first base and there’s little reason to doubt him at third. This is his spot to lose, and he’s only going to lose it if the injury bug finds him again.

Eduardo Nunez is impossible to ignore
The Yankees will carry 13 position players, and Nunez has been one of the 13 best players in camp. His combination of speed, bat and glove are more than enough to put him on the team, but the Yankees need their utility man to get only a handful of at-bats as a backup at shortstop, plus maybe a few pinch running appearances. It’s a tiny role, and the Yankees might prefer to let Ramiro Pena handle that job while Nunez stays sharp in Triple-A. So far, though, Nunez has been the better option. Whether he’s a better choice is a big-picture question the Yankees still have to answer. If I had to guess right now, I’d say Nunez will get the job.

Jesus Montero is not hitting
It might not matter because the Yankees believe fully in Montero’s bat, but for a guy fighting for a spot, it’s hard to miss the fact that Montero is batting just .185 with one extra-base hit, one walk and six strikeouts. Then again, Gustavo Molina and Austin Romine aren’t exactly hitting the cover off the ball. “To me, the defense has to come first,” Girardi said. “That’s the first thing I told (Montero). Not hitting in spring training. Yeah, you want to see everyone swinging great when they leave spring training, but I’ve seen a lot of guys hitting great at the end of spring training that don’t hit the first month of the season and vice versa.”

Hard to say who’s next in line
Aside from Jorge Vazquez, none of the guys likely ticketed for the minors has clearly established himself as someone at the top of the pecking order for an early season call-up. Manny Banuelos has been awesome, but he’s going to open in Trenton, and none of the already reassigned Triple-A guys — Adam Warren, D.J. Mitchell, Hector Noesi and David Phelps — was heads and shoulders above the rest (Warren probably had the best big league camp of the group). Of the three extra outfielders on the 40-man, only Justin Maxwell is currently healthy, and Brandon Laird has just one hit to go with his six strikeouts. Call-ups aren’t decided in spring training, and right now it’s hard to say who would be at the top of the list if someone were hurt in mid-April.

Associated Press photos of Burnett, Chavez and Montero

On the day pitchers and catchers reported to Yankees spring training, no one would have been surprised to learn that Bartolo Colon would be pitching a simulated game on March 15. Probably would have been hurt by then, or auditioning for another team.

The surprise is that, Colon pitched six simulated innings this morning, and the Yankees coaching staff intently watched every pitch.

“I had an opinion on Bartolo, but it was from years ago,” Joe Girardi said. “You kind of wanted to see what was there, because we hadn’t seen him pitch in a while. I don’t remember the last time we saw him pitch in a big-league game. I’ve been pleasantly surprised.”

By no means has Colon won a spot in the Yankees rotation, but he’s shown far more than expected (more than I expected, anyway). His fastball has lost some velocity but gained some movement, and his changeup is still a legitimate pitch. Today he was working on a slider that Girardi said looked pretty good.

Right now, all of the Yankees back-of-the-rotation options are performing pretty well. Freddy Garcia had a rocky start and Ivan Nova had a rocky inning, but otherwise they’ve been good. With two and a half weeks to go, pretty much every possibility is on the table.

As expected a month ago
Nova and Garcia in the rotation, Mitre in the bullpen
Colon pitched in winter ball, and it could be that he’s still ahead of the hitters. If that’s the case, the hitters could catch up in the final two and a half weeks, and the Yankees could decide they’ve been seeing nothing but an illusion.

Garcia falters
Nova and Colon in the rotation, Mitre in the bullpen
The worst outing of the four rotation candidates belongs to Garcia, who was pretty bad his last time out. It could be that he’ll continue to slip, Colon will continue to thrive and the Yankees will decide Colon is their best bet of the two veterans.

Mitre released
Veterans and the young guy make the team, Mitre is odd man out
Joel Sherman introduced this possibility today, saying there are some scouts who believe the Yankees will ultimately release Mitre. I’d be surprised if that happened because, 1: Mitre’s pitched pretty well and 2: Girardi seems to like him. That said, Mitre is out of options, so if the Yankees believe both veterans still have something left and want to keep Nova, they won’t have much choice but to get rid of Mitre one way or another.

Nova to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
The only candidate with options is sent to Triple-A
Not saying this is a likely scenario, but it seems more likely today than it seemed a month ago. The only way to keep all four candidates is to ship Nova to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It would let the Yankees get whatever they can get out of Garcia and Colon, and if/when one of those two gets hurt, Nova would naturally slide into the rotation. Every other decision eliminates a candidate. This one doesn’t.

Associated Press photo of Colon from earlier this spring

CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon each pitched six scoreless “innings” this morning. They faced the same series of four minor league hitters over and over again — two righties and two lefties — with Austin Romine taking occasional at-bats here and there.

“I threw some changeups to lefties, backdoor my cutter,” Sabathia said. “It was good to work on that stuff and not have to worry about really worrying about the result.”

Sabathia said the best part of the day might have been working with Russell Martin, talking about things pitches and strategies while he was still on the mound facing hitters. For Colon, it was a day to continue working on his slider, keeping it in to left-handed hitters.

“Whenever you go out there to pitch, in your mind you’re pitching and you think the stadium is packed,” Colon said, using Tony Pena as his translator.

• Kyle Higashioka has been reassigned to minor league camp.

• Joe Girardi said he expects Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances and Andrew Brackman to each get at least one more outing in big league camp before being sent down.

• The Yankees will probably use all of their regulars in tomorrow’s night game. As for the lineup, Girardi wouldn’t give us an exact order. “We might do some things, we might play around with some things,” Girardi said.

• Sergio Mitre is throwing a bullpen tomorrow, meaning he won’t pitch in Thursday’s game. But Girardi said his level of concern is still very low. “The trainers thought (a bullpen) was the best thing to do,” he said.

• Joba Chamberlain had an MRI yesterday but continues to tell the Yankees that he feels pretty good. “Functionally I think he’s fine,” Girardi said. Even so, it’s going to be a few days before Chamberlain pitches. There is no plan in place for when exactly he’ll pitch next.

• Mark Prior threw today and is feeling better. Girardi said it’s best not to go into detail about Priors symptoms yesterday, and I’ll take his word for it.

• Francisco Cervelli is off crutches. He came in for treatment today.

• Next four Yankees starters: Ivan Nova on Wednesday, followed by Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Freddy Garcia.

CC Sabathia just walked out of the dugout and down the right-field line for the start of today’s sim game. Larry Rothschild and Mike Harkey are standing behind screens behind the mound and Joe Girardi just walked into the dugout.

Still not sure who’s hitting and who’s catching.

UPDATE, 10:05 a.m.: Martin is catching Sabathia and calling balls and strikes. The hitters are from minor league camp and just seeing them in the box, I can’t tell who they are. Te first batter drove the first pitch to left-center, which was ruled a double. The only players on the field are Sabathia, Martin and the various hitters taking turns at the plate. Girardi, Harkey and Rothschild are watching from behind screens behind the mound.

UPDATE, 10:10 a.m.: Sabathia got out of a simulated bases-loaded jam with a simulated ground ball to short. He walked two and allowed the double. He struck out one.

Here’s Colon, pitching to Austin Romine.

UPDATE, 10:16 a.m.: Colon worked a 1, 2, 3 inning with a strikeout and a hard-hit fly out to center field. I’m watching from the seats directly behind home plate, and from here you can really see what the coaches are talking about with Colon’s fastball
movement. It really darts at the end.

UPDATE, 10:23 a.m.: Sabathia pitched a 1, 2, 3 second inning, ending it with a broken bat grounder to third. Hope these kids didn’t bring their good bats. Now Colon is pitching to Martin, who stayed behind the plate while Romine gets an at bat or two.

UPDATE, 10:29 a.m.: Now we’re rolling through some quick simulated innings. Colol just sent the side down in order, including a strikeout of Romine on a high fastball. Romine is now out to catch Sabathia in the top of the third.

UPDATE, 10:34 a.m.: Three up, three down for Sabathia. He had one strikeout — looking — and one hard-hit fly to right.

UPDATE, 10:40 a.m.: There’s that two-seamer from Colon, locking up the last batter of the third inning for a called third strike. Colon struck out two in the inning and allowed a flare single to left. His fastball and changeup look pretty impressive.

UPDATE, 10:50 a.m.: Sabathia had a perfect top of the fourth. Colon allowed two hits but no runs in the bottom of the fourth. Meanwhile, Brian Cashman has joined the coaches on the field. This is spring training excitement at its very best!

UPDATE, 10:56 a.m.: Oh no! Simulated Curtis Granderson ran into simulated Robinson Cano on a shallow fly ball behind second base. Granderson held on for the simulated third out of the top of the fifth. Simulated Gene Monahan ran out of dugout, but Granderson was remarkably fine and laughing with Cano on the way to the dugout. These fake games with nonexistent players can be pretend dangerous.

UPDATE, 11:02 a.m.: I kid you not, there was just a brief debate about whether a ball was foul or fair, the difference between a two-out double or the third out of the inning. It was finally ruled a double and Colon got the next guy out. Here comes the debate about simulated instant replay.

UPDATE, 11:09 a.m.: Didn’t realize until just now that simulated Ramiro Pena got the start at shortstop this morning. That must be him because Sabathia just got the third out of the sixth on a ball that was chopped over his head up the middle.

For the first time since the spring schedule started, the Yankees have no game today. It’s technically an off day, but Bartolo Colon and CC Sabathia will show up at Steinbrenner Field this morning to pitch a simulated game. They’re scheduled for 80 to 85 pitches each.

For Sabathia, it’s little more than a chance to throw some pitches and get himself sharp. For Colon, it’s another chance to make an impression and show the Yankees that he still has the stuff to get outs.

“It’s might be easier for me (to judge) because I’ll be able to stand behind him and I’ll see exactly where the ball’s going and how much movement’s on the ball,” Joe Girardi said.

Girardi said the guys who are hurt will also stop by to get treatment, and obviously there will be some hitters, but otherwise this is an off day for the Yankees. Sabathia and Colon are supposed to start at 10 a.m., then Steinbrenner Field will have one quiet day before the schedule starts up again tomorrow.

Associated Press photo of Sabathia

Joe Girardi was asked tonight whether he knew many 20-year-olds who would be willing to throw a 3-2 changeup to Kevin Youkilis. When he said no, Girardi was asked if he knew many 30-year-olds who would be willing to throw a 3-2 changeup to Youkilis.

“How old is CC?” he said.

Manny Banuelos wasn’t perfect tonight, but he showed the Yankees — and himself — that he has the stuff to face big league hitters and get them out. He struck out Carl Crawford on a fastball, he got back-to-back ground balls to escape a bases-loaded jam, and he made Youkilis look bad on a 3-2 change that was his last pitch of the game.

“It’s a lot for me because now I know how I can pitch,” Banuelos said. “I have an idea how can I mix the pitches to the major league hitters. It’s a lot different, minor league to the major league hitters. Now I have an idea, how can I throw, what pitch can I use against the big hitters?”

Before the game, Brian Cashman made it clear that there was nothing Banuelos could do to change the Yankees plans. He’s going to open the season in Trenton.

“What we’re looking for, I’m not expecting for him to provide at this time,” Cashman said.

This was never going to be the night that pushed Banuelos into the big league rotation, and this was not the night Banuelos emerged as a front-line prospect. This was simply the night he got his first taste of the big stage. His command was off and he got into a lot of deep counts, but Banuelos more than held his own against a legitimate big league lineup. He showed some flaws, and he showed a lot of promise.

“I feel ready for this,” he said.

The Yankees will wait. They’ll let Banuelos develop a little longer and they’ll try to show some patience, but there is an obvious excitement about this kid. And that excitement is starting to spread.

“Let’s put it this way: Probably most people couldn’t pronounce his name before camp,” Cashman said. “I think everybody pronounces it now, accurately.”

Here’s Banuelos in the clubhouse after his start.

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Here’s Cashman on the field before the game.

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• Cashman wouldn’t give a number, but he said Banuelos will have a innings limit this season. No real surprise, just thought I’d mention it.

• Mark Prior did not make today’s road trip because he’s sick. Doesn’t sound serious.

• Cashman labeled his level of concern about Sergio Mitre as, “low.” Mitre tried to convince the Yankees to let him pitch, but the Yankees didn’t want to risk anything with his oblique. “Girardi had to do a little bit of a wrestling match with him,” Cashman said. “He almost had to get me on the phone.”

• Here’s Mitre’s take on the situation: “It was a little bit sore and tight (Sunday). They don’t want to chance it because I pulled an oblique on the same side last year. We’re trying to figure out if it’s related. If it blows out, they’re talking about six weeks, so hopefully it won’t. I feel pretty good today.”

• Joba Chamberlain’s injury is around his ribs, but Cashman said it’s technically in his oblique. Just like with Mitre, the Yankees don’t seem especially worries. Chamberlain felt something, let the Yankees know, and now they’re playing it safe. “Could it play itself into (taking) a while? That’s what we’re trying to prevent,” Cashman said.

• Dellin Betances hit a batter with his first pitch, walked two batters, threw two wild pitches and allowed both Boston runs. “A little wild,” Girardi said. “But he didn’t cave. To me that’s a sign he’s making progress as well.”

• Nick Swisher went 0-for-3 and his spring average dropped to .188. “I don’t get too caught up in numbers,” Girardi said. “I watch the way he’s swinging the bat, and I’ve been pleased with his at-bats. He’s not a huge concern of mine.”

• Eric Chavez didn’t have a hit today, but he did get another game at first base. “He’s been really good (at first),” Girardi said. “I’ve been really pleased with what he’s done. It seems to be a pretty good adjustment for him. He hasn’t been tested a ton, but every play he’s needed to make, he’s made.”

• Brett Gardner had his fourth spring double. It came immediately after Jesus Montero’s first double and drove in the only Yankees run in a 2-1 loss.

• Another hit for Jorge Vazquez. Of course.

• Ramiro Pena had a hit and stole a base. He said a few days ago that he wanted to use his speed a little more to show the Yankees he could help on the bases, but Eduardo Nunez also had another hit today and continues to be a significantly better offensive option this spring.

• Against his old team, Alfredo Aceves pitched three innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk. Cashman reiterated that the Yankees did not have enough confidence in his back to offer Aceves a major league deal. “He’s got a back condition and we could not get him healthy, and I’ll leave it at that,” Cashman said.

• CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon will throw 80-85 pitches during tomorrow morning’s sim game.

Associated Press photos of Banuelos, Betances and Swisher

YANKEES (6-10-2)
Brett Gardner LF
Ramiro Pena SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Nick Swisher RF
Eric Chavez 1B
Eduardo Nunez 2B
Ronnie Belliard 3B
Jorge Vazquez DH
Jesus Montero C

LHP Manny Banuelos (0-0, 0.00)
Safe to say there’s no MLB track record here

RED SOX (9-8-1)
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Carl Crawford LF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
David Ortiz DH
Mike Cameron RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
Marco Scutaro SS

RHP Alfredo Aceves (0-1, 3.68)
Aceves vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., ESPN2

WEATHER: Very nice night. Little bit of wind blowing out to right-center, but nothing crazy.

UMPIRES: HP Jeff Kellogg, 1B Brian O’Nora, 2B Manny Gonzalez, 3B Mark Lollo

ON THE LINE: Just a few minutes ago, Brian Cashman said — once again — that there’s no chance Manny Banuelos will break camp with the Yankees. This is a chance to watch a young guy on a pretty big stage. Interesting and worth seeing for sure, but it has no impact on his plan. He’s heading to Trenton, no matter what happens tonight.

OUT OF THE BULLPEN FOR THE YANKEES: Dellin Betances, Romulo Sanchez, Mark Prior and Luis Ayala. Banuelos is getting all of the buzz because he’s getting the start, but Betances will be just as interesting to watch.

BULLPEN FOR THE RED SOX: LHP Dennys Reyes, RHP Bobby Jenks, LHP Rich Hill, LHP Hideki Okajima and RHP Jonathan Papelbon

LATE BIRTHDAY GIFT: Banuelos turned 20 yesterday. I have no idea what I did the day after my 20th birthday, but I can promise you it was nothing like this. ESPN certainly was not involved.

BORN A FEW YEARS BEFORE BANUELOS: Today is Scranton/Wilkes-Barre hitting coach Butch Wynegar’s 55th birthday. Curtis Granderson turns 30 on Wednesday.

UPDATE, 7:18 p.m.: The night starts with a nine-pitch walk for Banuelos.

UPDATE, 7:27 p.m.: Banuelos stranded two runners through a scoreless first inning. He struck out Carl Crawford, but walked Jacoby Ellsbury and Kevin Youkilis. Missed a few spots, but also got some bad swings and made his way through what must have been the toughest group of hitters he’s ever faced.

UPDATE, 7:46 p.m.: After loading the bases with one out, Banuelos got back-to-back ground balls to get out of the inning without a run. A chopper to third led to a force out at the plate, and a sharp grounder to third ended the inning with a routing 5-3.

UPDATE, 7:56 p.m.: Back-to-back doubles by Montero and Gardner have given the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the third. Montero drove his to the right-center gap. Gardner slapped his down the right-field line.

UPDATE, 8:09 p.m.: That’s all for Banuelos: 2.2 scoreless allowing two hits and three walks. He ended the night with a terrific 3-2 offspeed pitch (I thought curveball when I saw it live, but it looked more like a changeup on TV). He was a little erratic, but he also showed some flashes of everything the Yankees like about him, including the willingness to go offspeed in that situation against Youkilis.

UPDATE, 8:14 p.m.: Banuelos threw 53 pitches, 28 strikes.

UPDATE, 8:45 p.m.: Betances is a little bit all of the place here in the fifth inning. He hit the first batter, walked the next, and allowed a run because of two wild pitches. He got some help from a terrible bit of base running by the Red Sox. Anyway, it’s now 1-1 at the end of the fifth.

By now, the message has been passed along. Manny Banuelos arrived at Steinbrenner Field this afternoon and got the news that he would be making tonight’s start in Fort Myers.

“He was good,” Joe Girardi said. “I saw him when he came in and I told him, ‘Promise me you won’t try to do too much. Just go out and pitch.’ It’s easier said than done and we’ll evaluate what he tries to do tonight. For a 20 year old kid, there has to be some excitement.”

Red Sox manager Terry Francona joked with reporters that Banuelos is the kind of pitcher the Yankees should move very, very, very slowly through the system.

By now, we all know Girardi is not one to make definitive statements. He never rules out any possibility before he has to, but Brian Cashman has said in no uncertain terms that Banuelos has not chance of making this roster. It’s not going to happen. Even so, it’s fun to sit back and watch a young kid get his first small taste of this sort of environment.

“I tell him the most important thing is to get ready for the season,” Girardi said. “Physically make sure you’re ready and don’t try to do too much. It’s been talked about that he’s going to the minor leagues, but I don’t ever say anything is 100 percent. I don’t, because sometimes your needs change in a hurry around here. He’s in big league camp to show us what he can do, and there’s a reason for that. He doesn’t have to be in big league camp. He didn’t have to go through this experience. For him, it’s important that that carrot’s out there.”

• On the way here, the coaches’ bus was hit by a bird, which flew into the front windshield and shattered the glass on the passenger’s side. That’s usually where Girardi sits, but he and his son had gone to the back of the bus to talk to some people and didn’t see it. Pretty crazy.

• Banuelos has 50-55 pitches, probably enough for three innings, maybe four if he’s really good.

• Girardi said there’s a little bit of concern about Joba Chamberlain — “Any time a guy says his oblique, or whatever you want to call that, is a little tweaked you have a little concern,” Girardi said — but ultimately Chamberlain said he felt good today and the Yankees think he’ll be in a game later this week.

• Sergio Mitre will try to play play catch tomorrow. The Yankees want him to split Thursday’s game with Phil Hughes.

• Girardi said he’s had very preliminary discussions about the order of his top three starters. Obviously CC Sabathia is No. 1, but Girardi said he might announce as early as Wednesday whether Phil Hughes or A.J. Burnett will start the second game of the season.

• The Yankees will face Alfredo Aceves tonight: “Ace was great for us,” Girardi said. “It’s unfortunate that he had so many back issues last year. I thought we missed him a lot. I did. He was a guy that could bridge us from the fourth to the seventh inning. I wish him the best of luck. He was great for us.”

Just got to Fort Myers after giving Mark Feinsand full control of my ipod on the way down. We listened to a surprising amount of Phish and Ryan Adams.

Looks like the Red Sox are going to throw most of their regulars against the young Manny Banuelos. Here’s their lineup behind Alfredo Aceves.

RED SOX
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Carl Crawford LF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
David Ortiz DH
Mike Cameron RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
Marco Scutaro SS

RHP Alfredo Aceves

Unless he’s an active reader of online Yankees news, Manny Banuelos has no idea he’s about to start against the Red Sox tonight. Joe Girardi said he wanted to sleep on the decision, and as of a few minutes ago, he still had not seen Banuelos to let him know.

“I’m curious to see how he reacts,” Girardi said. “I waited until today to make sure that’s what we wanted to do… The Red Sox. There (on the road). ESPN. It’s something.”

Banuelos has opened eyes all spring, but this will be a different sort of experience. He’s a confident young pitcher, just one day past his 20th birthday, but this will certainly be the most intense start of his life. Spring training games might not carry much weight for veterans, but for the kids in big league camp, these games are intense.

“Even if he gets too hyped up, that’s something that he can learn from,” Girardi said. “That’s what we’re going to concentrate on not letting him do tonight. Don’t get too hyped up.”

• Joba Chamberlain also has some mild discomfort around his ribs. Girardi said it’s very similar to the Mitre soreness. Girardi learned about it after last night’s game. “(Chamberlain) will probably be pushed back to Wednesday or Thursday,” Girardi said. “We don’t think it’s anything serious.”

• If this were the regular season, Girardi said Mitre would probably make the start. “Now, with the history of the oblique strain last year, we just said, shut you down for a few days and see where you’re at,” Girardi said. “If everything goes OK we’re going to try to get him where he can split a game in a few days. It’s a setback of a few days, but I’m thinking it’s not going to sway our decision on way or another. We’ll still try to get him those innings.”

• Girardi said he expects Mitre to split a game with another pitcher, possibly on Thursday. Basically, Mitre and another starter would each go four or five innings.

• Boone Logan has a sim game today. He’ll pitch to Brandon Laird and Justin Snyder, who were the first two position players in the Yankees clubhouse this morning.

• Jorge Posada, Russell Martin, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano will stay behind to hit in the cage this afternoon.

• A.J. Burnett has a side session today.

• Off the bench: C Austin Romine, 1B Jose Gil, 2B Kevin Russo, SS Doug Bernier, 3B Brandon Laird, LF Justin Maxwell, CF Melky Mesa, RF Jordan Parraz, DH Gustavo Molina

• Out of the bullpen: Dellin Betances, Romulo Sanchez, Mark Prior, Luis Ayala, Ryan Pope, Steve Garrison and D.J. Mitchell.

• Mitchell was sent to minor league camp yesterday, but he’ll come back up for the day to give the Yankees an extra pitcher. Snyder was called up from minor league camp to give the Yankees an extra utility man for the road trip.

UPDATE, 12:50 p.m.: Rule 5 pick George Kontos has been returned from the Padres. He’ll report to minor league camp.

Associated Press photo