Yankees Spring Training Open Thread 3/9

What happened down in Yankees Spring Training camp today? Let's catch up!

Ivan Nova started today looking to add more ground balls to his spring resume and an improved curveball and he got a bit of both this afternoon. Nova pitched three innings and induced a ton of ground balls, five to be exact, and walked none against the New York Mets.

Donovan Solano is injured and doesn't seem close to resuming baseball activities. Solano has been diagnosed with a sore back. This is unfortunate for someone with something to prove this spring.

The Yankees trailed entering the 9th inning before Kyle Higashioka and Sebastian Valle, don't feel bad if you don't know either of these minor league Yankees catchers, hit home runs to tie the game and send it to extra innings.

The New York Yankees and the New York Mets tied 4-4.

Sorting Through the 15 New Minor League Deals

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. 

Meet a Prospect: Five Prospects in One

The New York Yankees have been adding as much minor league depth as they can find in recent weeks and rather do Meet a Prospect posts for every one of them I figured we could lump them all into one big post. Those names include Jose Rosario, Richard Bleier, Juan Silva, Sebastian Valle and Cesar Puello.

These write-ups come courtesy of LoHud Yankees Blog:

Sebastian Valle - Catcher

In the past: Once thought of as a top catching prospect, Valle has never reached the big leagues, but he’s still just 25 years old, he has some Triple-A experience, and he’s coming off a pretty good year in Double-A with a .754 OPS. He’s played in Mexico this winter.
Role to play: The Yankees are pretty thin at catcher in the upper levels, and Valle gives them an option who could be a Double-A regular, a Triple-A backup or even a Triple-A regular. Given the uncertainty of Gary Sanchez’s situation, the Yankees need some options behind the plate.


Jose Rosario - Utility

In the past: Primarily a middle infielder in the low minors, Rosario has shifted to a true utility role in recent seasons. His entire career was spent with the Yankees, so they’re signing a known commodity. He was still putting up pretty decent numbers as recently as 2014 when he was in High-A.
Role to play: Has played every position except catcher and first base, so he fits any franchise as an organizational utility man who can plug holes anywhere. Seems to most naturally fit the Double-A roster, but he could fill a bench role in Triple-A if necessary.


Richard Bleier - Left-handed starter

In the past: Has been both a starter and a reliever, but he most recently pitched as a starter through most of the 2015 season. And he put up really good numbers with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP between the two levels. Doesn’t strike out many guys, but doesn’t walk many either.
Role to play: This should be familiar, because it’s another bit of upper-level rotation depth. Probably not necessarily a next-in-line option for the big leagues, but certainly a guy who can provide innings in Double-A or Triple-A. If he can repeat his 2015 numbers, Bleier could put himself more firmly on the radar. But this looks a Double-A/Triple-A swingman as much as anything.


Juan Silva - Outfielder

In the past: Left-handed hitter with experience at all three outfield positions. He turns 25 in January and just got his first Double-A and Triple-A experience. Doesn’t have huge stolen base numbers, but in 2014 he was named the fastest and best baserunner in the California League.
Role to play: There’s not much room in the Triple-A outfield, but Silva could fit the Double-A roster. He’s shown some speed and on-base ability, and the Yankees like those two things. Another left-handed hitter, but he mostly fits as another option for Double-A (and he fits the Yankees’ mold).


And the Cesar Puello writeup was done by myself:

Puello missed much of the 2015 season with a back injury while inside the New York Mets organization. Puello was flat out released in August after an up-and-down tenure with the Metropolitans. Puello was suspended for 50 games after the whole Biogenesis clinic was shut down in Miami and is the only player to not reach the majors after the suspension. Puello was once a top outfield prospect for the Mets before the suspension, injuries and ineffectiveness dampened his career.

Meet a Prospect: All Those New Guys New York Signed

The New York Yankees have been adding as much minor league depth as they can find in recent weeks and rather do Meet a Prospect posts for every one of them I figured we could lump them all into one big post. We already met Vinnie Pestano because he has Major League experience and was a great relief pitcher for a couple years with the Cleveland Indians but the other guys have not shared the same successes yet. Those names include Jose Rosario, Richard Bleier, Juan Silva, Sebastian Valle and Cesar Puello.

These write ups courtesy of LoHud Yankees Blog:

Sebastian Valle
Catcher
In the past: Once thought of as a top catching prospect, Valle has never reached the big leagues, but he’s still just 25 years old, he has some Triple-A experience, and he’s coming off a pretty good year in Double-A with a .754 OPS. He’s played in Mexico this winter.
Role to play: The Yankees are pretty thin at catcher in the upper levels, and Valle gives them an option who could be a Double-A regular, a Triple-A backup or even a Triple-A regular. Given the uncertainty of Gary Sanchez’s situation, the Yankees need some options behind the plate.

Jose Rosario
Utility
In the past: Primarily a middle infielder in the low minors, Rosario has shifted to a true utility role in recent seasons. His entire career was spent with the Yankees, so they’re signing a known commodity. He was still putting up pretty decent numbers as recently as 2014 when he was in High-A.
Role to play: Has played every position except catcher and first base, so he fits any franchise as an organizational utility man who can plug holes anywhere. Seems to most naturally fit the Double-A roster, but he could fill a bench role in Triple-A if necessary.

Richard Bleier
Left-handed starter
In the past: Has been both a starter and a reliever, but he most recently pitched as a starter through most of the 2015 season. And he put up really good numbers with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP between the two levels. Doesn’t strike out many guys, but doesn’t walk many either.
Role to play: This should be familiar, because it’s another bit of upper-level rotation depth. Probably not necessarily a next-in-line option for the big leagues, but certainly a guy who can provide innings in Double-A or Triple-A. If he can repeat his 2015 numbers, Bleier could put himself more firmly on the radar. But this looks a Double-A/Triple-A swingman as much as anything.

Juan Silva
Outfielder
In the past: Left-handed hitter with experience at all three outfield positions. He turns 25 in January and just got his first Double-A and Triple-A experience. Doesn’t have huge stolen base numbers, but in 2014 he was named the fastest and best baserunner in the California League.
Role to play: There’s not much room in the Triple-A outfield, but Silva could fit the Double-A roster. He’s shown some speed and on-base ability, and the Yankees like those two things. Another left-handed hitter, but he mostly fits as another option for Double-A (and he fits the Yankees’ mold).

And the Cesar Puello writeup was done by myself:

Puello missed much of the 2015 season with a back injury while inside the New York Mets organization. Puello was flat out released in August after an up-and-down tenure with the Metropolitans. Puello was suspended for 50 games after the whole Biogenesis clinic was shut down in Miami and is the only player to not reach the majors after the suspension. Puello was once a top outfield prospect for the Mets before the suspension, injuries and ineffectiveness dampened his career. 

Yankees Continue Signing Minor League Depth

Hat tip to Matt Eddy of Baseball America for the latest in all things Yankees prospects. The New York Yankees signed four minor league players this week as the club continues to add a bit of depth to the organization.

The first signing was the signing of catching prospect Sebastian Valle, a one-time top prospect at the position. The second was a veteran bullpen signing with former Minnesota Twins closer Vinnie Pestano joining the organization and likely Scranton/Wilkes Barre. The third signing was LHP Richard Bleir who is best known for his control. The fourth and final signing was CF and former New York Mets product Cesar Puello. If the name Cesar Puello sounds familiar there is probably a good reason for it, Puello was one of those suspended in the Biogenesis scandal. Puello is the only player to not yet make it to the Major Leagues that was suspended in the fallout.