Ensberg now; Duncan, Betemit next as Girardi makes right(y) choices?

The Yankees on Friday added reserve infielder Mo Ensberg to the team's 40-man roster. The move prevents Ensberg from filing for immediate free agency, and appears to be a prelude to naming Ensberg to the Major League roster before the Yankees conclude Spring Training 2008 next week.

Yankee skipper Joe Girardi told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that adding Ensberg to the roster on Friday did not indicate a final decision had been made on Ensberg's regular season status, but he did add that Ensbrg, who is out of minor league options and will earn $1.75 million in 2008 if he makes the team, had impressed the Yankee staff over the first three weeks of Grapefruit League action.

The move appears to allow Ensberg to claim one of three bench spots open on the Yankee roster. With Ensberg now a virtual lock to make the team, reserves Shelley Duncan, Wilson Betemit, Cody Ransom, Chris Woodward, and Jason Lane will vye for the final two spots as the spring season winds down over the next seven days.

Of that group, Duncan has had by far the best spring and the highest profile. He is near the top of the team stat sheet in several offensive categories and has showed flashes of improved defensive skills in the outfield and at first base. If Duncan does make the big club, he will await the results of an appeal filed with Major League Baseball in regards to a three-game suspension handed down to Duncan after an on-field incident against the Tampa Bay Rays on March 13. Starting Yankee centerfielder Melky Cabrera also received a three-game ban after that game.

Betemit came to the Yankees in a trade that sent relief pitcher Scott Proctor to the Dodgers last July. The 26-year-old Betemit is a switch hitter and can play all four infield positions. He enjoyed only limited success in 37 appearances for the Yankees last season, batting .226 with a .278 on-base percentage. He struck out 33 times in only 84 at bats. He also had four home runs and contributed 24 RBI.

Despite his modest offensive output, Betemit's defensive flexibility and switch-hitting ability make him, along with Duncan, an odds-on-favorite to make the Yankee roster out of spring training. Duncan, like Ensberg, is a right-handed hitter, and that fact persuaded Girardi when it came time to make the call on Ensberg Friday afternoon.

"We're going to face a lot of left-handed starters," Girardi told Hoch. "You look at the Red Sox, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Cleveland and the White Sox. Especially early on, we're going to see a lot of these teams that have a lot of those left-handers."

Was it the right call?

With a lefty-heavy lineup, Girardi needed to look for righty bats to achieve at least a little bit of balance at the plate. But aside from his attractiveness as a right-handed bat, Ensberg provides some veteran bench stability with a successful pedigree.

As a Houston Astros third baseman, Ensberg enjoyed some success at the plate, particularly in 2005, when he slugged 36 home runs with 101 RBI and finished fourth in NL MVP balloting.

Betemit has had an up and down career. In 409 major league games, he has a .260 average with a .332 on-base percentage, with 258 strikeouts in only 909 at bats.

Duncan is a raw commodity who, despite a power surge that lead to six home runs after being called up last September, has no real representative sample of major league experience to back up any confidence the Yankees may have in him right now.

Betemit shores up some defensive replacement concerns. Duncan is fiery; he will play hard on every ball and will take an extra mile with every inch granted him. But the Yankees needed a bench player who at least in the short term gives them proven offensive ability, some defensive help if Duncan can't spell Giambi at first base effectively, and time to let the other young players, who look promising, get more seasoning in the minors.

The right(y) call was a good call by Girardi.