New York Yankees Sign Joe Espada

The first signing since the Derek Jeter contract has been announced today when the Yankees signed Joe Espada. Who? Espada is signed to be a special assistant and scout possibly taking the place of the recently departed Don Wakamatsu. Last anyone saw Espada was when he was the third base coach and minor league manager in the Miami Marlins organization. This is obviously a behind the scenes kind of signing but if it helps us get back to the promised land then I am all for it. Welcome to the family, Joe.

Yankees Have Lost Don Wakamatsu

The New York Yankees have lost one of their pro scouts in Don Wakamatsu as the Kansas City Royals hired him today to be their Major League bench coach. Wakamatsu will also fill in the role as a special instructor for catchers for the Royals next season. Honestly I did not expect to have Wakamatsu in the organization more than a season anyway because of his past managerial experience with the Seattle Mariners but I expected him to get a managerial job, not a bench job. Oh well good luck to Don in all of his future baseball endeavors.

Yankees Hire Don Wakamatsui

You may have heard that the Yankees added Don Wakamatsu to their pro scouting staff.

Wakamatsu has coached and managed at pretty much every level of the minor leagues, and has some experience in the majors as well... his latest stint as a bench coach in Toronto. I was looking for something in particular to stand out in his bio, and I came across this bit from Fred Claire, former baseball executive and writer for MLB.com...

It is the relationships that Wakamatsu has built during his time in baseball that defines him best. He was somewhat of an unknown to the public when he was hired as the Mariners' manager last November, but he is well-known and highly respected within the game.

Not sure how much this will translate into his job in the scouting department, but it's nice to know that the team has hired somebody that is well thought of in baseball circles.