DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The Yankees appear to have settled on Ronald Torreyes as their Opening Day shortstop, reassigning infielder Tyler Wade to Minor League camp following Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Tigers in Grapefruit League action.
Wade had been in the running to break camp with the Yankees due to Didi Gregorius' right shoulder strain, but the 22-year-old is not on the club's 40-man roster. Rated as the Yanks' No. 12 prospect by MLBPipeline.com, Wade hit .357 in 25 Grapefruit League games and will begin the season as the starting shortstop for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
"He played really well and we really like what we see from him," manager Joe Girardi said. "He's another kid that I think is going to play in the big leagues. He can be very versatile and I think he can play a lot of different positions. I think he's going to offer a ton of value. We thought it was important that we finished [his development] off."
Girardi said that Wade's reassignment means that either Pete Kozma or Rob Refsnyder could be carried as an extra infielder. In that battle, the 28-year-old Kozma likely has a leg up because of his prior Major League experience and the ability to play shortstop and third base.
"He's someone that we'll continue to look at," Girardi said. "He's been playing better. He's versatile too where he can play really any position in the infield. You wouldn't worry about putting him anywhere. He's definitely in the mix."
An excellent defender, Kozma spent all of last year at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he played in the big leagues with the Cardinals from 2011-15, batting .222 and playing 173 games at shortstop. Girardi said that the Yankees view Refsnyder as a first baseman, second baseman and corner outfielder.
One avenue for both Kozma and Refsnyder to make the team would be if the Yankees decide not to carry Aaron Judge on their Opening Day roster -- Girardi indicated that the Yanks are still considering having their No. 4-rated prospect begin the season at Triple-A as he battles Aaron Hicks for playing time in right field.
"That's a tough decision, to decide what we're going to do there," Girardi said. "We talked about it a little bit yesterday. We'll continue to talk about it. [Judge] needs to play, that's the bottom line."
Girardi also confirmed that Luis Severino will begin the season as a starter, whether he is in the Majors or Minors, and the club will not name a fifth starter out of camp. Because there are three off-days in the season's first 10 days, the Yankees will not need their fifth starter until April 16 against the Cardinals, so they will carry eight relievers to begin the season.