Yankees Release 17 More Minor League Players

At first sight I thought this was a recap of the Yankees releasing those 16 minor league players a week or so back but New York has released another 17 minor leaguers just in time for Christmas. No huge names pop out at you but here is the list anyway:

Ryan Baker

Jeff Farnham

Sean Black

Saxon Butler

Shane Brown

Neil Medchill

Tim Flight

Victor Beriguete

Mariel Checo

John Brebbia

Rich Macheri

Charlie Haslup

Hector Crespo

Ty Afenir

Johnny Falla

Aaron Gates

Daniel Aldrich

Baker was the guy who got suspended for 50 games for refusing to take a drug test, just in case the name sounded familiar to some of you out there. I am a bit surprised by the Butler release as he was only drafted in the 2012 draft, talk about a short leash. Crespo is really surprising as he was drafted in 2013 and made it all the way to Scranton this season and now he is a free agent, head scratcher. Afenir was also drafted in this past June's draft but did not turn many heads in his debut season. The rest of the names I have either never heard of or are so far off the radar that they are not huge losses at all. I don't know what is going on in Yankee land down on the farm but someone is definitely cleaning house.

Charleston's Ninth Inning Rally Comes Up Just Short

RiverDogs score two but strand the bases loaded in the ninth, lose 5-4

CHARLESTON, SC - The Charleston RiverDogs scored four runs in the final two innings, but stranded the bases loaded to the end the game and fell 5-4 to the Rome Braves on Sunday evening in South Atlantic League action in front of 5,217 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in the penultimate game of the season.

With the loss, the RiverDogs drop to 35-34 in the second half and 74-63 overall. The Braves improve to 37-32 in second half play and 73-65 overall with the victory.

Rome jumped on Charleston's starter Eric Wooten early scoring three runs on four hits and a hit batter in the top of the first inning.

In the top of the third, the Braves plated another run thanks to a single, a walk, and two errors to push their lead to 4-0.

Wooten finished with a final line of six innings, four runs, three earned, six hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts. He got tagged with the loss to fall to 2-3.

Charleston couldn't get anything going offensively because Lucas Sims was dominant on the mound for the Braves. Sims gave up just five hits and didn't walk anybody in five shutout innings with seven strikeouts. He earned the win to finish his season 12-4.

The RiverDogs' third error of the game and a base hit led to another run for Rome in the top of the eighth to advance their lead to 5-0.

That's when the Dogs finally got the bats going. A single by Jake Cave and a double by Ty Afenir had runners at second and third with out. A wild pitch brought Cave home, then a base hit by Dante Bichette, Jr. scored Afenir to make it a 5-2 contest.

In the ninth inning, Charleston really made it interesting. Danny Oh led the inning off with a walk. Then back-to-back one out singles by Wes Wilson and Fu-Lin Kuo brought Oh across the plate. Jake Cave then got hit by a pitch to load the bases and move the tying to second base. A wild pitch scored Wilson to make it 5-4. Then with the game on the line, Dante Bichette, Jr. flew out to left field to end the game.

John Brebbia tossed the final three innings for Charleston and allowed one unearned run on four hits to finish up his year.

BALLPARK FUN: It was Irish Heritage Night at the ballpark with the Irish National Anthem playing before first pitch, Irish music and dancing before and during the game, and PA announcer Ken Carrington even donned a kilt for the occasion!

COMING UP: The final game of the season is Monday night at 6:05 at Riley Park! Charleston will start RHP Rookie Davis (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and Rome will counter with RHP Wes Parsons (7-7, 2.78 ERA). We will end the night with a fantastic season finale fireworks show! Come out for the last supper featuring $1 hot dogs and $1 draft beers of always smooth Keystone Light. Fans can purchase tickets at www.riverdogs.com, over the phone at 843/723-7241, or in-person at the Riley Park Box Office. Fans may also listen to the game live locally on ESPN Radio 910AM or online at www.riverdogs.com.

Box Score: http://atmilb.com/17xIhC8

Being posted with permission from the Charleston Riverdogs organization. The original article can be seen HERE. 

Yankees 2013 Draft Signings Update For 6/18

Flying out Monday morning to get my career started with the Yankees. #Dreamcometrue
— Conner Kendrick (@crkendrick42) June 16, 2013

The Yankees and 9th round pick Conner Kendrick have agreed to a deal to bring Conner to the Yankees family. His slot recommendation is set at $140,000 but it is not expected that the left handed pitcher will receive that much.

The Yankees and 10th rounder Tyler Webb have agreed upon a deal that will pay the left handed pitcher $30,000 which is $105,000 below the slot recommendation for his pick. Webb is already playing for the short season Staten Island Yankees and made an appearance last night.

The Yankees and 12th round pick Phil Walby agreed to a $100,000 deal to bring the right handed pitcher to the Yankees. This is exactly what the slot recommendation was for Walby.

The Yankees also agreed to a slot deal worth $100,000 with 14th round pick Caleb Smith. Every pick past the 10th round is slotted at $100,000.

✈ To Tampa. The journey begins. #yankees #blessed
— Ethan Carnes (@EthanCarnes) June 18, 2013

The Yankees and 21st round pick Ethan Carnes have agreed to a $75,000 deal which is below the $100,000 slot recommendation. There is no savings unfortunately as that only applies to the first ten rounds but either way Carnes is a part of the organization.

The Yankees also signed their 39th pick when they signed Ty Afenir to a deal. There is no word on what the contract was worth yet but I highly doubt that it exceeds the $100,000 slot recommendation.

In other news the Yankees signed undrafted free agent Chad Taylor out of the University of Southern Florida. Taylor pitched and played outfield for USF's baseball team but we have not been told which he will do for the Yankees. The maximum we can pay Taylor without penalties is $100,000 but I doubt he comes anywhere near that.