In order to clear room on the 40 man roster for Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, and LaTroy Hawkins, the Yanks nontendered a trio of pitchers. They are Matt DeSalvo, T.J. Beam and Darrell Rasner. If a team does not offer a contract to a player without enough service time to otherwise become a free agent before a given offseason deadline, that player is considered nontendered and allowed to hit the open market.
DeSalvo is not much of a loss. He was never a big prospect. He throws an array of unspectacular pitches from unique arm angles. At best, he will become a junkballer in the mold of Paul Byrd. He is a smart pitcher who throws the kitchen sink at the opposition but probably would not have the natural ability to get consistent outs in a division as loaded as the AL East.
Beam is a decent relief prospect with a big fastball. He probably would have had a shot to make the big club in 2008. He posted an 8.60 ERA with the Yankees in 2006 before having a solid 2007 in the minors. The only reason Sean Henn stayed over him is that Henn is a lefty. Sean has already gotten an extensive opportunity to perform in the majors and failed to do so. It would have been better to see what Beam can do.
Rasner is the best-known of the trio. He has a 4.13 ERA in 17 career Major League outings. He induces grounders successfully by keeping his fastball down and owns a solid curveball. While Rasner is not a major prospect, there is no reason he cannot be a useful innings eater in a long relief role. It is unclear how Jeff Karstens made the cut over Rasner. Karstens has no above average pitches.
Losing Rasner and Beam will not decimate this team, but these nontenders do open a lot of questions. One can only guess that Carl Pavano was uncooperative with the team in its attempts to get him to take a minor league deal. His selfishness knows no limits. The Yankees also wasted a roster spot a few weeks back by adding a low ceiling catcher nowhere near ready for the Majors, Francisco Cervelli. That move makes no sense in light of the nontenders.
