TAMPA — Nick Burdi and Clayton Beeter were told they have won the competition in camp for the final two spots in the Yankees bullpen and will travel with the team to Houston.
However, the Yankees defined that it was the competition in their camp, and that over the next few days when there will be roster shakeout elsewhere, they can still pivot if they feel something better presents itself.
Burdi impressed the Yankees with his stuff from the outset of camp. The question for the 31-year-old righty was health.
Only Burdi and Shawn Hill have ever pitched in the majors after undergoing two Tommy John surgeries plus the procedure for thoracic outlet syndrome.
Burdi changed his arm slot to try to alleviate what was causing the injuries and said after his outing Sunday how remarkable it is not to be in pain after every outing and to recover well.
Burdi had an out in his non-roster contract on April 15. If he indeed is put on the 26-man roster for the season opener against the Astros that also means he will be on the 40-man roster, which allows him to be optioned to the minors. That flexibility is valuable for an organization.
Dennis Santana probably would have made the Yankees over Beeter if he had options. But without them, the Yanks did not want to put him on the roster and then if they needed a roster spot, they could not send Santana to the minors without exposing him to waivers first.
And the Yankees are expecting Tommy Kahnle (shoulder) to be ready around two weeks into the season and to need a pen spot.
At that point, Beeter would likely become the most obvious pitcher with options to be sent down — if he indeed makes the Opening Day roster — so he can go to the Triple-A rotation to work on his changeup, in particular.
For now, the Yanks believe his fastball/slider combo will work in long relief out of the pen to help with length as the starters become more fully stretched out.
Beeter was the return the Yankees received from the Dodgers for Joey Gallo on Aug. 2, 2022.
Santana has an opt out on July 1, so the Yankees can — for now — place him in the minors to retain greater organizational pitching depth.