The New York Yankees are gearing up for the Opening Day. Moreover, they will be facing off against the Houston Astros in Texas. However, they won’t have their ideal lineup for the season ready on their regular season opener in 2024. First of all, the NY side won’t have Gerrit Cole due to a right elbow injury. The 2023 AL Cy Young winner is the most dependable pitcher in the 40-man roster of the 27-time champions. That he has been for a while now. However, without their superstar starter, the Bronx Bombers won’t likely make the postseason. Hence, the Yankees Nation has been eagerly waiting for the return of their ace pitcher.

Without Cole, the pitching department looks really weak and shaky. Moreover, in the batting order, the Yankees won’t have DJ LeMahieu because he is a new name on the 2024 Yankees Injured List. Clearly, injuries are the biggest worry for the NY side ahead of the new season despite having a strong side. Lately, the Yankees announced Clayton Beeter is on the Opening Days roster as a reliever. Nestor Cortes will play Cole’s role on the Opening Day. But the young righty pitcher Beeter can play a multi-inning role for the Yankees in 2024. 

Clayton Beeter Made The Opening Day Roster As A Reliever

Lately, Clayton Beeter was one of the losers in the race for the fifth starting pitcher. The Yankees eventually gave that job to Luis Gil. He had a standout spring training among the other contenders. Cody Poteet, Luke Weaver, and Will Warren were the other losers, as were Beeter. But as one door closes and another opens up, the Yankees found him eligible for another job. Beeter won’t be a starter, especially not on the Opening Day. But he made the regular season opener’s roster as a reliever. Lately, Nick Ahles of Pinstripe Alley mentioned catcher Jose Trevino has been working with Clayton Beeter on trusting his skills more. Moreover, Trevino helped Beeter to pound the strike zone with his +fastball and slider to get more strikeouts consistently.

Ahles wrote that Beeter has been showing progress quite early in the spring training. Anyhow, it might be a good opportunity for Beeter to hide his limitations. Since he will be pitching out of the bullpen, Beeter can mask his issues with control or command. Generally, pitchers need both to be a successful starting pitcher in MLB. But if Beeter does not throw 1-2 innings every game as opposed to 4-5 innings, he may not need a pinpoint command. But he will need to keep his walk in check no matter what his role is. 

Yankees Are Not Giving Up On Beeter 

The NY side has been showing a lot of faith in Beeter. As a starting pitcher, Clayton Beeter had a 3.18 ERA and a 17/6 K/BB after 17 innings in spring training. Anyway, with an early-season stint, Beeter can be the bullpen piece the Yankees can acclimatize to the big league.

But at present, the NY side needs him in relief, as several high-profile pitchers are on the Injured List. The Yankees need fresh and talented arms to cover as many as 13 games in the first two weeks. Clayton certainly qualifies to be on the roster for those games. 

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