Yankees debating whether to take 15 or 16 pitchers north

DUNEDIN, Fla. — With the Saturday night trade that brought in backup catcher Jose Trevino and the Sunday deal that swapped relievers — lefthander Joely Rodriguez went to the Mets for righthander Miguel Castro — the 28-man roster the Yankees plan to take north is fairly set.

There is some question about who will occupy the last bullpen spot or two, but the biggest question organizationally at the moment is whether to leave camp with 15 pitchers or 16.

“Probably will have a big roster meeting tomorrow and further those discussions and see what we come up with,” Aaron Boone said before his team’s 7-5 loss to the Blue Jays at TD Ballpark.

There is potential risk in whatever the club decides.

Because of the industry-wide expectation of mass injuries when it comes to pitching staffs — the result of the 3 ½-week spring training as opposed to the usual six-week version — the more arms at a team’s disposal, the better. The trouble with that is that going with 16 pitchers leaves a team with a three-man bench.

“We’re still kind of debating the 15, 16 thing,” Boone said.

In the bullpen, the locks are Aroldis Chapman, Chad Green, Jonathan Loaisiga, Clay Holmes, Michael King, Lucas Luetge, Wandy Peralta and Castro, a 27-year-old righthander with whom the Yankees are plenty familiar  from his time with the Orioles (2017-20). The hard-throwing Castro went 3-4 with a career-best 3.45 ERA while making a career-high 69 appearances last season with the Mets. Counting the five-man rotation — Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Jameson Taillon, Jordan Montgomery and Nestor Cortes — that makes 13 pitchers.

In the mix for the final few spots — again, depending on whether the Yankees choose the 15-man staff or 16 — are Clarke Schmidt, Deivi Garcia, Manny Banuelos, JP Sears, Luis Gil and Ron Marinaccio.

Gil, who debuted last year, was a long shot all along to make the club out of camp, and he didn’t help himself  when he allowed five runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings on Sunday. Schmidt, who followed Gil and allowed two runs and two hits in 4 1/3 innings, still has an outside chance of making the club. Righthander Shelby Miller was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.

 With a three-man bench, the locks are DJ LeMahieu and Trevino, with a decision to be made between Marwin Gonzalez, Tim Locastro and Ender Inciarte. Gonzalez’s live bat since he’s been in camp — as well as his versatility in the field — make him a near-lock. However, the Yankees love the speed brought to the table by Locastro, who is in camp on a major-league deal, and the terrific defense provided by Inciarte, a three-time Gold Glove winner with Atlanta.

 Boone said Trevino is on the club as Kyle Higashioka’s backup. He hit .239 with five homers, 14 doubles and 30 RBIs in 89 games with the Rangers last season. The Yankees did not acquire Trevino for his bat, though. In the words of shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a former teammate of Trevino's with the Rangers, he is “a great defensive catcher.”

Ben Rortvedt, who came to the Yankees along with Josh Donaldson and Kiner-Falefa in the deal that sent Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela  to the Twins, was acquired to back up Higashioka. Rortvedt, however, will start the season on the injured list with a Grade 1 right oblique strain, and the Yankees weren’t entirely comfortable going with Rob Brantly, Max McDowell or David Freitas as the backup.

“To be able to get a premium defensive catcher, we’re really excited about that,” Boone said. “He’s an elite framer and my understanding is this is a guy that’s really good, whether putting down the fingers, working with the pitching staff, [all] those little nuanced intangible things. I feel like we’re getting a really good one . . .feel we have three premium defensive catchers on our 40-man roster. Feel a lot better about our catching situation.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.