The New York Yankees finally announced their non-roster
invitees to spring training camp last week and with it came technically 15 new
minor league deals for the team. I say technically because the Yankees had
already announced deals with these players prior to the announcement last week
but on paper and according to the transactions page on the blog these just
became official. With these 15 new faces vying for spots either with the big
league club, the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders or whether they are auditioning
for another gig with another team it’s best to have all the information on them
that you can to best make your personnel decisions. We will attempt to lay that
out to you today.
Pete Kozma
Kozam is a former St. Louis Cardinals infielder with the
flair for the dramatic. Kozma is a defense-only type shortstop that will look
to break camp on the Yankees roster as a middle infielder and final bench
piece. He is a poor man’s Brendan Ryan although he comes at about half the
price and is only 28-years old.
Vinnie Pestano
Pestano will look to break camp with one of the presumably
many wide open positions inside the Yankees bullpen for this season. Pestano is
now 31-years old and will look to join his third MLB club after breaking out
with the Cleveland Indians and after pitching with the Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim last season. Pestano is a big guy with a heavy strikeout pitch but
walks and ineffectiveness has dampened his career as of late.
Anthony Swarzak
Swarzak is listed as a starting pitcher but if he makes the
team it will be as a reliever. The former Minnesota Twins product will likely
fall victim to a numbers game inside the Yankees rotation and either start the
season in the bullpen, down in Scranton or searching for another team. I can’t
see him breaking the rotation without a lot going wrong first in the injury
department. I see Swarzak as the 2016 version of Kyle Davies circa 2015.
Tyler Cloyd
The Yankees enticed Cloyd away from Korea to come back to
the states and compete for a bullpen spot with the club. Cloyd had MLB
experience and he has decent minor league stats to back them up so he is hoping
a year in Korea can help him pursue his dream of playing in the Major Leagues.
If it’s with the Yankees though he is going to have to pitch his butt off
because if there was a pecking order or a depth chart he wouldn’t be very high
on it right now.
Diego Moreno
This is more of a procedural move than anything after the
Yankees snuck him off their 40 man roster this winter. Moreno pitched well for
the Yankees last season in limited action before an injury ended his season
prematurely. If he’s healthy he has a very legitimate shot at making the roster
because the Yankees always seem to go after the devil they know versus the
devil they don’t know. They know Moreno.
Richard Bleier
Bleier joins a long list of left-handed relief pitchers the
Yankees will be looking at this winter. You have to think he is at least behind
Jacob Lindgren, James Pazos and Tyler Webb on the pecking order and is a longshot
for the bullpen this season. There’s nothing wrong with being Triple-A depth
though because as the Yankees showed last season there is always room for you
on the roster if the bullpen gets gassed out over the course of a weekend.
Carlos Corporan
Corporano has a legit shot at becoming the team’s backup
catcher this spring, it all depends on what the team thinks of Gary Sanchez.
Sanchez had 35 games at Triple-A last season, one more than Greg Bird when he
was called up to the show, and an impressive showing at the Arizona Fall League
this winter but the team may want to stick him back in Scranton for another
half of a season. If this is the case the team could easily designate Austin
Romine for assignment and give “Corpy” the 40 man roster spot and the backup
job. If not he could head to Triple-A and wish and wait. This signing, as a
Sanchez fan, has me worried.
Francisco Diaz
The Yankees invited a lot of pitchers to camp this season
and they generally bring a lot of catchers for the beginning of camp. That’s
why Diaz is here, just to catch all the pitchers. He has no real shot at making
the team in my opinion and he knows it.
Kyle Higashioka
Higashioka seems destined for a job in coaching and/or
managing and has become a staple at Yankees spring training camp for that
reason. He’s a special advisor without the fancy title and a spot within the
organization. This may be his final spring training before hanging up his
playing spikes for some coaching spikes with the organization.
Eddy Rodriguez
See Francisco Diaz. Rodriguez is destined to be either the
starter or backup in Scranton.
Sebastian Valle
Valle is a former top prospect and has a very outside shot
of making the team. If Sanchez struggles and the likes of Corporan, Rodriguez
or Diaz don’t impress than Valle might work his way in with a strong spring.
He’s a long shot and he’s an underdog and I always tend to root for the
underdog.
Jonathan Diaz
Diaz is a middle infielder with a lot of Yankees depth in
front of him. He can play all the positions the Yankees need help at but is
likely one of the last on the depth chart in my opinion. He’s organization
depth at this point and needs an absolute ton to go wrong or a fantastic spring
to win a job with the big league club this spring.
Deibinson Romero
Romero is another one of those players that spent a year in
the Korean Baseball Organization hoping to catch the eye of a MLB team. That
MLB team was the New York Yankees this winter and Romero couldn’t have come at
a better time. Romero can be a suitable backup at third base and other
positions of need for New York keeping Starlin Castro and company at the
positions where they feel most comfortable rather than playing out of position.
Romero is just versatile enough to win that last bench spot he just needs to
show a little bit with the bat to convince the Yankees and the front office.
Donovan Solano
See above with Deibinson Romero. Solano has MLB experience
with the Miami Marlins and experience at third base, first base and all over
the infield. The Yankees are building a team around depth and versatility and
Solano checks a lot of boxes in that department for New York.
Cesar Puello
I don’t think Puello has a legitimate shot at making the
major league roster this spring and will likely spend the season at Double-A or
Triple-A with the squad. With the likes of Ben Gamel, Mason Williams, Slade
Heathcott, Aaron Hicks and others in front of him New York just wanted to see
what they had in the former Mets product.
