The Yankees have signed infielder Jeimer Candelario to a minor league deal, as announced by the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (h/t to Conor Foley of YES Network). Yancen Pujols reports that Candelario is expected to report to Triple-A on Monday and that Candelario had multiple offers before he settled on the Yankees.
Candelario, 31, was recently released by the Reds while in the midst of year two of his three-year pact with the organization. It’s not hard to see why Cincinnati pulled the plug, as he has battled injuries all throughout his tenure with the club and hit just .207/.265/.394 across 134 games with the club over the past two seasons. Almost all of that production came in year one of the contract, as Candelario made it into just 22 games this year and hit a paltry .113/.198/.213 in 91 trips to the plate before being designated for assignment.
Despite that lackluster work in recent years, Candelario is not far removed from a four-year run from 2020 to 2023 where he slashed a strong .254/.329/.437 in 465 games for the Tigers, Nationals, and Cubs. That production wound up being good for a wRC+ of 111, and he enjoyed three-win campaigns in both 2021 and ’23. A resurgence to that sort of level would be a godsend for the scuffling Yankees. A recent skid where they’ve lost 16 of their last 22 games has seen them drop from the heavy favorites in the AL East to three games back of the Blue Jays and tied with the Rays in the division.
That consistent stretch of losing has led to plenty of attention on the club’s hole on the infield. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a solid player who can handle either second or third base as necessary, but a supporting cast of DJ LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza to hold down the other position just hasn’t cut it. If Candelario can prove he’s healthy and effective again, it’s not hard to imagine him being an upgrade over the Yankees’ current options to partner with Chisholm. With that being said, trade season is already upon us and some intriguing infielders like Eugenio Suarez, Luis Urias, Ryan McMahon, and Amed Rosario could be available this summer.
Any of those players would be a more reliable addition than Candelario at this point, and it’s not hard to imagine the Yankees feeling as though they can’t afford to roll the dice on a player who hasn’t been healthy and effective in nearly two years now. Still, he’d at the very least represent a more robust depth option for the Yankees than the likes of Nicky Lopez and Andrew Velazquez who were already in the organization on minor league deals.
Blogged machine had this two hrs ago
I hope he can also pitch. Yankees have bigger needs. The Yankees have sunk faster than the Titanic.
The Yankees finally found a 3B for almost free…
I could easily see this working out. The Yankees have had some success reviving veteran hitters.
Don-Yup. Going back to Brosius. Could see Candelario all of a sudden becoming a post season hero for them too.
Wishful thinking. While there always is a chance, the Reds released him for a reason.
They also signed him for a reason
Yanks are starting to feel the losses of Soto and Cole. Overpriced roster will likely miss the postseason. Coach and GM need to go
clubber: Firing Boone and Cashman won’t put them in the postseason.
Not this year. But they lucked into the WS last year. They just aren’t a Championship team. They would have been knocked out of the ALCS last year if the Astros didn’t get fluked by Detroit
clubber: So how would firing Boone and Cashman change that? It’s on the players to perform better.
Just firing people out of frustration doesn’t accomplish anything.
They simply aren’t doing their jobs. Cashman hasn’t been effective since ‘09. Boone sucks as a manager, period. Dave Robert’s out managed him at every turn in the WS last year.
baseballfreak25: The Dodgers had a better team top to bottom than the Yankees. That makes a manager look very smart.
Gee Blue Baron, if the Dodgers team was just that much better maybe its time for the GM and Coach to go so that roster construction and implementation can improve.
Acting as if they should stay is funny tho. Big ol “how can i be different today?”
Begamin: Why do you think it’s funny if someone disagrees with you? Is nobody but you entitled to an opinion?
Sadly Boone isn’t there to manage. He’s there because the organization relies too much on analytics, and he’s agreed to go along with it. Guarantee you, he’ll succeed when he goes someplace that actually lets the coaching staff coach. It’s obvious by sitting hot players that they only go off of numbers, with no feel for the game. And until brass changes their ideology, Boone will be blamed.
Because the Yankees have done this same song and dance almost every season. Best team in MLB in the first half, collapse in the second. Last season Soto and Houston getting knocked out made the difference. Boone loses the team every summer.
He is going to get so roasted by the NY press.
What makes you think he will play for the Yankees when the reds cut him and his contract loose due to poor performance?..its a minor league deal he won’t make it out of triple A
If so, they will use that to roast him and management for the wasted effort.
Either way, it will be blood in the water.
Wasting AAA at bats on Lopez & Candelario. Need real upgrades over LeMahieu & Peraza.
Suárez is a huge upgrade.
Need multiple relievers that aren’t another reclamation project. Need guys that you can count on or Boone is going to burn out the 2-3 dependable guys.
If only the Yankees traded for Tucker and signed Bregman for 3B. Goldy has been good, but Bellinger at 1B and the outfield for Tucker, Dominez, and Judge so much better. I’ve said this before Steinbrenner doesn’t care about winning. Just stay relevant enough to make a profit. The Yankees keep losing, and he loses money. That’s the only way he will change his ways
There was no way the Astros were dealing Tucker to the Yankees. Goldy could be dealt. That they had Bellinger at 1B at this time speaks volumes. Spencer Jones is off to a hot start in AAA. If he keeps it up, forces the issue, and gets called up, it would start a chain reaction that would make Grisham and Goldy expendable. Seattle needs a 1B and an OF. The Yankees might become sellers. Other good news… Rodrick Arias is heating up in low A. He should be called up to HV soon. Lombard is getting on base in Somerset and seems to have found his comfort zone. Just waiting on the power to develop and it will.
mlbnyyfan: The Yankees gave up so much for Soto and previously for guys like Montas and Gallo that they didn’t have the talent to match what the Cubs traded for Tucker.
Rodon has lost it again. The BP is garbage. Suarez won’t make that much of a difference.
Still better than Volpe
He’s got as good an opportunity there as he could hope for. They’ve been trying to fill 3B for a few years now
Enjoy! One of the worst players I’ve ever seen play.
DoorDash will bring a box of NUTRAMEM box for the anemic players,, all of them !!
I mean for league minimum, sure why not. But if Candelario couldn’t hit at the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark, that’s really saying something…
Time to sell at deadline, Trashman. Team is a dumpster fire.
Maybe give up the pink bat and go with something more traditional 😉