Cashman Turns To Sears To Stock New York Yankees Bullpen

Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season is a few countable hours away. New York Yankees general manager, Brian Cashman, is tweaking the final undecided spots on his roster. Surprisingly, Cashman parted with a valuable left-handed reliever in Joely Rodriguez in his rare exchange with the Mets for righty reliever Miguel Castro on Sunday. It seems like a move that should benefit both teams.

However, solid left-handed relievers can be hard to come by and are ever so important in Yankee Stadium. A veteran GM like Cashman, who, based on a recent press conference, may be feeling the pressure of not winning a World Series ring for his bosses in a dozen years, doesn't make a move like that unless he knows he has a valuable piece to replace Rodriguez.

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Cashman turned to 26-year-old left-handed pitcher JP Sears to stock that lefty bullpen roster spot. According to Greg Joyce of nypost.com, Sears was informed by manager Aaron Boone that he had made the team. Sears threw three innings in a Grapefruit League game on Monday. Joyce reported that, Boone told reporters that JP Sears would “likely” be on the Opening Day roster, but did not make it final.

Boone told nypost.com, “We’ve been impressed with what we’ve seen of JP. We feel like his ability to throw strikes, his fastball’s going to play. Thought he was really good today mixing his three pitches. Saw the life on the fastball and saw it play, but his secondary was something that was effective today as well. … So there’s a good chance he’s on.”

Sears was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in 2017 for prospect Nick Rumbelow. The left-hander will have some big shoes to fill, as Rodriquez pitched well for the Pinstripes down the stretch. Once again it appears that Brian Cashman shops in the right places to stock his roster.