The Yankees announced that they have claimed outfielder Bubba Thompson off waivers from the Reds. The latter club designated him for assignment last week. The Yanks came into today with two open roster spots on their 40-man roster but have now claimed Thompson and reportedly signed right-hander Cody Poteet.
Thompson, 26 in June, has 92 games of major league experience, all of that coming with the Rangers over the past two seasons. He has hit .242/.286/.305 in his first 241 major league plate appearances, which translates to a wRC+ of 65. But he has 22 steals in 27 tries and Statcast considers his sprint speed to be elite, with just Elly De La Cruz and Bobby Witt Jr. ahead of him in 2023.
His hitting has been a bit better at the Triple-A level, where he’s hit .284/.347/.440 for a wRC+ of 95 dating back to the start of 2022. Since he has that elite speed and is considered a strong outfield defender as well, even a bit of offense could make him an intriguing player.
The Yankees have a crowded outfield with Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham all set for regular or semi-regular playing time. Jasson Domínguez will be in the mix once he rehabs from Tommy John surgery. Oswaldo Cabrera will likely be on the roster in a utility capacity while Everson Pereira and Oscar González are on the 40-man as well.
Thompson still has a couple of options, so the Yanks can keep in the minors to get regular reps and see if his bat develops. Even if that doesn’t happen, his speed and defense could help him carve out a bench role as a pinch runner or defensive replacement at some point. He still has less than a year of service time and is therefore still a ways away from free agency or even reaching arbitration.
FanOfTheUmpires
Crazy how fast they have already moved on from Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
Joe says...
Don’t need those bums.
99CaptainJudge99
Yeah I truly don’t get it.
Bright Side
organizational depth
RSmith
“I truly dont get it”
Judge:
6/4/23 Toe
4/27/23 Hip
7/7/22 Lower Body
7/16/21 COVID-19
6/13/21 Back
4/7/21 Side
8/26/20 Calf
8/12/20 Lower Body
9/19/19 Shoulder
4/20/19 Oblique
7/27/18 Chip fracture, right wrist
Stanton:
4/16/23 Hamstring
9/5/22 Foot
7/24/22 Achilles
5/24/22 Calf
5/14/21 Quad
8/9/20 Left Hamstring
8/8/20 Hamstring
10/13/19 Right Quad
6/25/19 Knee
4/1/19 Bicep
Verdugo
9/3/23 Hamstring
5/17/23 Groin
5/4/23 Illness
5/21/22 Illness
5/13/22 Foot
6/9/21 Back
5/21/21 Hamstring
5/5/21 Back
4/25/21 Cramping
9/18/20 Hamstring
8/5/19 Back
5/26/19 Back Tightness
Anything yet? Anything at all?
Tabata's Adopted Son
Bubbbbbbbbbbba!
scarfish
It’s a household name.
titanic struggle
They’re Bubbaless. They have their Buck, but now no Bubba..
10centBeerNight
Cashman making decent depth moves
slider32
How about Soto?
TradeAcuna
I expected a chubby white man when I clicked on the name.
Gasu1
Looks like he was a decent prospect who just ran out of development time due to Covid.
Tabata's Adopted Son
He suffered an injury in 2019 (something with his leg I think?) And didn’t come back the same. Then Covid screwed him.
TrumboRedux
Glad he is trying his hand at baseball. He wasn’t much of a Nascar driver.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Always has his shrimp company to fall back on if the baseball thing doesn’t work out.
TrumboRedux
YBC, why stress yourself out with baseball when you could be a world class shrimper!!!
YankeesBleacherCreature
Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey’s uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried.
This one belongs to the Reds
He was just a runnin’.
TrumboRedux
LMAO!!!!
Boy, you better tuck in that lip before you get it caught on a trip wire!
scarfish
I gotta sign bubba!
melfman1
He was my best good friend!
TrumboRedux
melfman, he was ALL of our friends!
mlbnyyfan
IMO. I actually like this move. Solid pick up during Cashman dumpster diving pick ups.
Bigtimeyankeefan
Where are the real major league moves ?
TrumboRedux
Cashman is a disciple of Sun Tzu.
“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
This one belongs to the Reds
My Shih Tzus are real fans of Sun Tzu, as well as General Tzu chicken.
TrumboRedux
I get the knock off stuff. “General Mao’s” chicken. Just like General Tzu’s but a much lesser quality.
This one belongs to the Reds
Is that in the red light district?
TrumboRedux
It sometimes comes in a mystery food box I order on overstock.com
dasit
among his lesser know sayings: “climb buildings and bed mistresses to distract your enemies from noticing your garbage roster construction”
Juggy
I see the Yankees are dumpster diving again
mlbnyyfan
Now trade Trade Rizzo, Torres, Stanton and DJ. Sign Chapman and Bellinger. Right now it’s hard to trade for Pitching minor leagues depleted from horrible Gallo and Montas trades.
YankeesBleacherCreature
I’ll bite. Let’s say all of that happens and the Yankees don’t win the WS next season. Then what?
The real Oscar Gamble
Don’t get caught up.
cguy
Hey, Reds rejects are an upgrade for Yankees.
Dive into that dumpster with both hands Cashman! What goes around……..
Salzilla
40 man now filled and interest in Snell…hmmm…another trade incoming? But what?
theknuckler
Maybe they’re sending Stanton to LA ?
Dodgers clearly have cap room.
More likely they flip Verdugo or Grisham as part of a bigger deal for Pitching,
Salzilla
I wish they’d just send him home.
Dogleg62
LA Dodgers just signed a DH. You may have heard of him… Ohtani? Now, if you meant send Stanton to the LA Angels as a replacement for Ohtani, that I could get on board with. But Yanks will still have to eat a ton of money for any deal involving Stanton and he would have to waive his NTA.
James Midway
Sign Snell DFA Soto problem solved.
The real Oscar Gamble
Hey Sal, you a music fan?
Old York
He has a history of stealing bases. He’s been caught 36 times. Not sure why our justice system keeps releasing him, though…
YanksPhan42
Went from no outfielders to 78 of them. Although Thompson is a good, super cheap depth gamble.
Maybe they include Grisham in a trade now?
Mikenmn
It’s little moves like these by Cashman that help vault the Yankees from 82-80 to 82-79
PutPeteinthehall
Guess Uncle Steve still has plenty of money left to burn. He paid Bader 10m plus another 100 percent plus in luxury tax. Ended up costing him over 20m for one year of Bader. Would have been better off grabbing this guy.
Captainmike1
One thing I really hate about baseball is that some kid (Bubba) got $2.1 million dollars (signing bonus) without proving he could play in the majors. What was his alternative? Get a real job ? Make $40k a year ? Draft picks should not become millionaires for doing nothing.
So many people work hard doing good work and they won’t make that much in their lifetime
This is one of the best examples of “life isn’t fair”
YankeesBleacherCreature
99.999+% of us weren’t born with extraordinary athletic abilities. And if one is, then they also have to be at right place at the right time. Someone once said to me “Don’t ask life to be fair; ask life to be worth it.”
mlbnyyfan
I was hoping Houdini was making a comeback for the Yankees instead of bringing on Poteet
THEY LIVE!!!
@captainmike1
The sooner you realize that life isn’t fair, the sooner you realize contentment with what you have, and be grateful for everything you don’t have too.
Buzzz Killington
Bubba makes good burgers.
loumickeyjeter
Trashman dumpster diving. Announce Snell.