Open Thread: 3/27 Camp Notes

The Yankees played their final road game of the spring this afternoon, beating the Pirates 4-2. CC Sabathia threw 44 pitches across four innings in his final tune-up, allowing three hits with no walks and no strikeouts. He finishes the spring having allowed three runs on 13 hits with a 16/3 K/BB in 21 innings. His next start will be Opening Day, Tuesday in Houston. David Phelps had a rough two-thirds of an inning and was charged with the two runs, but Dellin Betances, Vidal Nuno, and Adam Warren all threw scoreless innings.

At the plate, Ichiro Suzuki and Eduardo Nunez both went 3-for-4, all singles. Zoilo Almonte went 3-for-3 with a double. Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann both went 0-for-3, though Teixeira drew a walk. Bench candidates Yangervis Solarte and Dean Anna were both hitless in four trips to the plate. You could definitely tell the end of Spring Training is close because there was a ton of first pitch swinging. Guys are ready to get out of Florida. Can’t blame ’em. Here’s the box score, here are the video highlights, and here’s the rest from Tampa.

• The Yankees announced a big round of roster cuts this morning: Preston Claiborne and Zoilo Almonte were optioned to Triple-A Scranton while Russ Canzler, David Herndon, Jim Miller, Scott Sizemore, Yoshinori Tateyama, Danny Burawa, Chris Leroux, and Fred Lewis were reassigned to minor league camp. Herndon is expected to opt-out of his contract by Sunday. There are now 34 players left in big league camp by my unofficial count.
• Jacoby Ellsbury (calf) worked out today and will play in games Friday and Saturday. It’s unclear if they will be regular Grapefruit League games or minor league games. If he plays in a regular spring game, they won’t be able to backdate a DL stint if he suffers a setback. [Dan Barbarisi, Jorge Castillo]
• Phelps, Warren, Nuno, Betances, and Cesar Cabral are all scheduled to pitch again on Saturday, their final tune-ups before the season. The roster is expected to be announced tomorrow and at least one of those guys won’t make the bullpen. [Chad Jennings]

This is your open thread for the evening. Both YES (7pm ET) and MLB Network (right now) will replay this afternoon’s game, plus MLB Network will show the Giants and Athletics later tonight. They’re playing in AT&T Park, so teams are starting to return to their cities. The Islanders and Devils are playing as well. Talk about anything and everything right here.