GEARING UP FOR A FUN, YOUNG YANKEE SPRING!

When the 40 Yankees on this year's active roster report for work at the Boss in Tampa in two weeks, 23 non-roster players will be joining them. Or... to be more precise, 11 pitchers, 4 catchers, 6 infielders and 2 outfielders will be there to shag balls, throw and catch BP and flesh out the lineup cards until the starters are in game shape before moving on to their final destinations.

Basically, you can divvy up the non-roster invitees into three groups.

Photo: Pinstriped Prospects

1) Minor leaguers on their rookie contracts who were invited because the team expects them to be back as major leaguers sooner or later.  Looking at you Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres, Justus Sheffield, James Kaprielian,  Dustin Fowler, Chance Adams and Tyler Wade.

Photo of Pete Kozma / Getty Images

2) Minor leaguers signed as farm depth who were invited because the team wants to evaluate if they could be potential lifeboats in the event four guys on the big club in the same position share a cab and plunge into the Harlem River.  That would be you Ji-Man Choi, Pete Kozma, Donovan Solano, Ruben Tejada, Wilkin Castillo, Kellin Deglan, Francisco Diaz, Jason Gurka, Joe Mantiply and Evan Rutckyj.

Photo of Daniel Camarena / MiLB.com

3) The annual Bullpen Cattle Call sponsored by Joe's Binder, where anybody with an arm, warm or stiff, is invited to step up to the mound and throw a few numbers.  These include J.P. Feyereisen, a throw-in from the Andrew Miller trade, along with Daniel Camarena, Brady Lail, Jordan Montgomery and even the TJ-rehabbing Nick Rumbelow.

Photo of: Jorge Saez

Throw in catcher Jorge Saez, a Rule-5 grab from Toronto who's sure to get sent right back before Opening Day, and there you have it, folks.

Throw in the 40 guys on the big roster and there will be 63 jerseys handed out by the equipment manager this spring.

And with 22 retired numbers (including The Captain come May) you can once again expect to see the tired old recycled stories soon complaining about how the Yankees retire too many numbers.

But never fear. The Yankees have been doing very nicely for years duplicating the higher numbers and splitting them up between  pitchers and position players.

And should there come a time when the big club really does run out of double digit numbers, I always say there's no reason in the world they can't just go straight  to triple digits. 

Think that's crazy?

(Yomiuri Giants pitcher Adam Bright is wearing 022)

When the Yankees first made numbers a permanent part of the uniform,  everybody thought that was kind of crazy. Now everybody does it. No biggie. They've already gone to triple digits in Japan and the world didn't end for them. So as long as the Yankees keep making great ballplayers, we'll keep retiring their numbers. 

And every spring we'll keep searching  and hoping for the next young Yankee whose number will be the next to go. 

 --Barry Millman
BYB Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @nyyankeefanfore
  

THE YANKEES & DRAFT SIGNINGS

(In Photo: Dante Bichette Jr.)
The Yankees were able to secure 7 players that they selected in the draft before the deadline. We here at Bleeding Yankee Blue wanted to bring them to you.

(In Photo: Greg Bird)

Gregory Bird: This kid was in the 5^th round, 179^th overall and signed for $1.1 million. Bird played in the California Collegiate League. He's a catcher. Click on his name to read more. Bird had this to say about the Yankees, brought to you by the Denver Post: “It’s exciting... There’s still a long way to go."

(In Photo: Jake Cave)

Jake Cave: Cave is a left hitting outfielder who signed for $825,000. He was in the 6^th round and 209^th overall. Cave is a position player. The goal is to make him a center fielder by the beginning of his major league career. Cave played in the Coastal Plains League. More HERE from Yankees Daily.

(In Photo: William Davis)

William Davis: Davis a right hander in the 14^th round. It's reported the "Rookie" Davis will make $550,000, the "largest handed out to a player outside the top three rounds this year," according to the Jacksonville Daily News. While David can play shortstop and first base, the Yankees like him as a pitcher.

(In Photo: Daniel Camarena)

Daniel Camarena: This left hander was in the 20^th round. He signed for $335,000. MLB's Daily Dish says it best "Camarena is a polished lefty starter that tends to sit in the high-80's these days, but he flashes a quality curve ball and could develop into a quality pitcher down the road."

(In Photo: Chaz Herbert)

Chaz Herbert: Herbert is a left hander from the 27^th round. Herbert said of the signing, "It really came down to the last two days and me deciding what I really wanted to do, In the end, I did what I've always wanted to do and that's play professional baseball." That is brought to you by The Daily Advertiser. Herbert will please in the Rookie Gulf Coast League to finish out the minor league season and then report again in March to really start his professional career.

(In Photo: Joseph Maher)

Joe Maher: Maher is a right hander in the 38^th round. "The fall prior to his sophomore season, Joey Maher threw a pitch that registered 87 miles per hour on the radar gun," according to the Bedford Patch. and here's more from the Patch: "As a senior, he produced a .442 batting average while playing first base, third base and designated hitter on his non-pitching days."

(In Photo: Jordan Cote)

Jordan Cote: Cote was in the 3^rd round and signed for $725,000 instead of attending Coastal Carolina on a baseball scholarship. Cote is a former New Hampshire Union Leader Player of the Year and a right hander. He’ll report to Tampa, Fla. and play rookie ball in the Gulf Coast League. Read more HERE.

(In Photo: Dante Bichette Jr.)

Dante Bichette Jr: As you know, Bichette signed a $750,000 deal back on June 18^th and we wrote about it here on Bleeding Yankee Blue. Currently, Bichette is with the Gulf Coast League. He’s batting .338 with 13 doubles, 3 homers and 41 RBIs. Bichette is the son of former baseball great and friend of Joe Girardi, Dante Bichette.

Here's the full list of who the Yankees signed:

3B Dante Bichette Jr. (Comp. A)
RHP Jordan Cote (3rd rd.)
INF Matt Duran (4th)
C Gregory Bird (5th)
OF Jake Cave (6th)
1B Austin Jones (7th)
RHP Philip Wetherell (8th)
RHP Zachary Arneson (9th)
RHP Mark Montgomery (11th)
OF Cody Grice (12th)
OF Justin James (13th)
RHP William Davis (14th)
RHP Branden Pinder (16th)
RHP Hayden Sharp (18th)
RHP Robert Paullus (19th)
LHP Daniel Camarena (20th)
INF Zach Wilson (21st)
RHP Corey Maines (23rd)
LHP Matthew Tracy (24th)
LHP Chaz Herbert (27th)
RHP Joseph Maher (38th)

(Source: NJ.com)

Remember these names folks, we may see some of them n the Bigs one day. Exciting stuff coming out of Yankeeland.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.