Yankees' Cade Winquest usage leads to concern about roster spot waste

The New York Yankees' pitching staff has been great to start the season.

Cade Winquest has not yet played a part in the action.

The Yankees took Winquest in the Rule 5 Draft, their first selection in that process since 2011. And when he made the team, he became the first Rule 5 pick to actually make a Yankees roster for Opening Day since 1973.

But despite earning his spot, Winquest hasn't pitched yet.

Followers of the Yankees are starting to wonder if this is a waste of a roster spot:

The Winquest add is like carrying Marcus Stroman on the playoff roster. If there is no lane to pitch him in the first four games of the regular season, he shouldn’t be on the roster. Gil will replace him soon enough.

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To be fair to manager Aaron Boone, the Yankees have been in close games aside from Opening Day, and they've also already had two off days. He hasn't necessarily had to dig too deeply into the bullpen.

Winquest isn't a sure thing, though.

The 6-foot-2 righty Winquest topped out at Double-A Springfield in the Cardinals' system last year, where he had a 3.19 ERA in eight starts on the mound.

This spring, he didn't even put up great numbers. Winquest had a 6.48 ERA in 8.1 innings, allowing 11 hits and six earned runs while striking out seven.

It's not a given that Winquest would make any kind of positive impact. He may not last much longer with the Yankees -- once they need a fifth starting pitcher for proper rotation balance, his time might be up.

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