The New York Yankees are a perennial World Series contender and given that status, they rarely have gaping holes to plug on their team. But MLB baseball betting fans will see one of their backup spots up for grabs after a preseason injury.

 

Backup catcher Francisco Cervelli fractured his left foot after fouling a ball off of it on March 2^nd and will now be sidelined for the rest of spring training and up to the first month of the regular season as well.

 

Most fans assumed that Jorge Posada would be able to step in and fill the role but it’s become very apparent that he is only around in case of an emergency and the team will have to look for a different solution for now. Posada is going to focus solely on being the designated hitter.

 

So that opens up an opportunity for a couple of lesser-known players like Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, who are the frontrunners to open the season with the backup duties.

 

Montero is the player that most Yankees fans want to get a closer look of as he is generally considered to be the team’s No. 1 prospect. He has already drawn good reviews for his excellent defense in spring training – especially after he threw out a pair of Pittsburgh Pirates would-be base stealers. He has some power in his bat too.

 

Romine was long considered to be the better defensive player, so it was thought that he might have the inside track but Montero has opened some eyes in spring training and he is likely leading the race right now. Romine has never played above Double-A ball, though, and that is something that could work against him.

 

Many players have made the jump before, such as Yankees manager Joe Girardi, so don’t be surprised if Romine does as well.

 

Keep an eye on how the backup role unfolds in the coming weeks as we move closer to Opening Day.

 

 

Posted under Uncategorized

Cole Hamels allowed one unearned run over two innings in his first spring training start to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-4 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday. The lone hit off Hamels was a two-out double in the second by Francisco Cervelli that tied it 1-1. The left-hander struck out two, walked one and hit a batter during his 33-pitch outing.

Posted under mlb

Yankees catcher Jorge Posada has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair a small tear in the meniscus of his left knee. Dr. Lee Kaplan operated Wednesday in Miami. The Yankees expect Posada will be ready for spring training. The 39-year-old was limited to 120 games this season, including 83 behind the plate, as he shared time with Francisco Cervelli.

Posted under mlb

Blue Jays left-hander Marc Rzepczynski recorded eight consecutive outs by strikeouts Monday night against the New York Yankees. Rzepczynski struck out Alex Rodriguez to end the first. Robinson Cano fanned to start the second and, after hits by Marcus Thames and Austin Kearns, Rzepczynski struck out Curtis Granderson and Francisco Cervelli.

Posted under mlb

Jon Lester thought about the standings and realized the hole the Boston Red Sox are in -- 51/2 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL wild-card race with just eight games to play. Difficult. Unlikely. But not impossible. Especially with four more games against the Yankees. "We've got a chance," he said Saturday after taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and leading the Red Sox...

Posted under mlb

We already know that David Wright of the New York Mets and Francisco Cervelli of the New York Yankees share a...

Posted under mlb

Francisco Cervelli settled under Mike Lowell's second-inning popup, a routine play that major league catchers make 99 out of 100 times, maybe even more. This time, the ball kicked off his glove and rolled into foul territory for an error. Three unearned runs later, the Boston Red Sox and Clay Buchholz had a two-run lead.

Posted under mlb

Jorge Posada was scratched from the New York Yankees' lineup minutes before gametime because of a sore left knee. A Yankees spokesman said Posada experienced left knee soreness and was replaced by Francisco Cervelli. Posada was originally in manager Joe Girardi's lineup, batting sixth. Cervelli went into the eighth spot, with center fielder Curtis Granderson being moved up from seventh to...

Posted under mlb

The New York Yankees are a season-best 20 games over .500 and manager Joe Girardi can still see the defending World Series champions doing so much more. Better at-bats and more consistency from the bullpen. It's been an impressive first half nonetheless. Mark Teixeira hit a solo homer, Curtis Granderson had an RBI triple and the Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1 on Monday night for their...

Posted under mlb

Andy Pettitte got a bunch of hugs from appreciative teammates, and a ball and a big grin from Mariano Rivera. Then his former pitching coach and Yankees great Ron Guidry called with congratulations. This was no ordinary victory. Pettitte threw 7 1-3 sharp innings to become the third player to earn 200 wins with New York, beating his hometown Houston Astros 4-3 on Friday night.

Posted under mlb