Why Yankees' Justus Sheffield's promotion could be in peril

by Felix Pantaleón

The Yankees are waiting on calling up top pitching prospect Justus Sheffield, though rosters expand to 40 players on Saturday.

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NEW YORK — The Yankees likely won’t call top pitching prospect Justus Sheffield up when rosters expand Saturday.

And it’s looking possible they have no intentions of promoting him in 2018.

When asked whether Sheffield would be among the September call-ups, manager Aaron Boone said no, citing the fact the Yankees could still make some trades before Friday’s waiver wire deadline.

Boone added that Sheffield remains a potential call-up, though.

“No,” Boone said. “We’ll see how today flushes out with more potential waiver-wire stuff, but I wouldn’t say I expect him tomorrow. I would say he continues to be in the conversation on the short term, but I don’t think we’ll see him (Saturday).”

Active rosters expand from 25 players to 40 on Sept. 1.

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A few things:

Sheffield might not be ready: The Yankees won’t use the 22-year-old left-hander — ranked by MLB Pipeline as the team’s top overall prospect — as a starting pitcher, his normal position. They recently transitioned him to the bullpen to see if they could use him in September as a reliever. In three relief outings, he’s given up two earned runs while striking out three and walking none. The Yankees might prefer to trade for an established big-league reliever rather than roll the dice on Sheffield, who would be making his big-league debut in a role to which he’s not accustom.

They don’t need to do it: Sheffield will be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft in December. To protect him from getting snatched, the Yankees would have to have to add him to their 40-man roster. But that’s a future problem. They don’t need to do it immediately.

There’s still time: If the Yankees can’t strike a deal for a reliever by Friday’s end, they could still give Sheffield more work in the bullpen at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Maybe he turns a corner and maybe they promote him. Who knows. But it’s not a lock — Boone’s words signaled that.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.