Yankees Select Yovanny Cruz
The Yankees announced that they have selected right-hander Yovanny Cruz to their major league roster. Fellow righty Elmer Rodríguez has been optioned to Triple-A to open an active roster spot. The Yanks had a couple of 40-man vacancies, so no corresponding move is required there.
Cruz, 26, was originally an international signee of the Cubs out of the Dominican Republic back in 2016. He became a minor league free agent after 2023 and has since bounced around on minor league deals with the Padres, Red Sox and Yankees.
Though he was signed a decade ago, this is his first season pitching at the Triple-A level. Statcast pegs his four-seamer at 99.2 miles per hour on average. He also throws a high-80s slider. Statcast has also classified a few pitches as splitters, sinkers or changeups but the four-seamer/slider combo has made up well over 90% of his offerings.
For most of his minor league career, he has been able to miss bats but also the strike zone. From 2023 to 2025, he logged 110 innings on the farm, allowing 3.19 earned runs per nine. He struck out 26.8% of batters faced while giving out walks to 14.5% of opponents.
The results this year have been comparable, though slightly improved. In 18 frames, he has an ERA of 3.00 and a 29.1% strikeout rate. He has also induced grounders on 52.3% of balls in play. He has given out nine walks, making up 11.4% of batters faced. He has also hit three batters. Combining the walks and the hit batters, that’s 15.2% of opponents getting a free trip to first. Despite the control issues, Baseball America has taken notice, recently giving Cruz the #28 spot in the Yankees’ system.
It’s possible that Cruz is only up to give the Yanks a fresh arm. Of the Yankees eight relievers, six of them pitched yesterday. Three of those were pitching for a second consecutive day. With the group somewhat gassed overall, they will go to a nine-man bullpen by bringing up Cruz.
It’s unclear what this means for the rotation. The Yanks recently placed Max Fried on the IL and recalled Rodríguez to take his rotation spot. Rodríguez had a decent outing yesterday, allowing one run over 4 1/3 innings. After the game, manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com that Rodríguez would stick around for one more turn of the rotation before Gerrit Cole‘s scheduled reinstatement from the injured list.
It seems the Yanks pivoted from that plan in order to get a fresh arm up for tonight’s game, as they kick off a four-game series against the Blue Jays. Ryan Weathers, Will Warren, Cam Schlittler and Carlos Rodón are scheduled to start the games in that series. By Friday’s game against the Rays, they’ll need a plan for the open rotation spot. That could be activating Cole sooner than anticipated, or perhaps a bullpen game led by someone like Paul Blackburn or Ryan Yarbrough. They could also call someone else up from the minors between now and then, if Cole is still going to make one more rehab start.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
Yankees To Recall Elmer Rodríguez For MLB Debut
The Yankees will recall highly-regarded pitching prospect Elmer Rodríguez this week, as first reported by Yankees Farm. Manager Aaron Boone tells Talkin’ Yanks that the 22-year-old righty will start Wednesday’s game against the Rangers.
Rodríguez will oppose Nathan Eovaldi in his MLB debut. The Yankees have already tabbed Cam Schlittler to go against Jacob deGrom in tonight’s fantastic pitching duel. They’d listed Will Warren as their probable starter on Wednesday. He’ll evidently be pushed back beyond Thursday’s off day and make his next outing this weekend against the Orioles.
The Yankees haven’t announced their weekend rotation plans. It seems likely they’ll go with Warren, Ryan Weathers and Max Fried in that order. Warren and Weathers will be working on two extra days of rest, while Fried will be on five days rest after starting last night.
New York has an opening on the pitching staff after optioning Luis Gil on Sunday. They called up Jasson Domínguez in conjunction with the Gil demotion, but they can return to a 13-pitcher setup by calling up a fresh arm when Giancarlo Stanton goes on the injured list today. They could recall Rodríguez today or go with a ninth reliever for tonight’s game and make another move tomorrow.
Rodríguez is arguably the organization’s top pitching prospect. The Yankees acquired him from the Red Sox in a December 2024 swap for catcher Carlos Narváez. That has turned into a much bigger trade than expected for both teams. Narváez quickly jumped Connor Wong as Boston’s primary catcher and finished sixth in AL Rookie of the Year voting last season. Rodríguez was a mid-tier developmental pitching prospect who had yet to reach Double-A. He’s now among the top minor league arms in the game.
The Puerto Rico native combined for a 2.58 earned run average across 150 minor league innings last season. He fanned 29% of opponents while cutting his walks a couple points to a manageable 9.4% clip. The Yankees had an easy call to add him to the 40-man roster to avoid losing him in the Rule 5 draft. Rodríguez has made four strong turns through the Triple-A rotation, allowing a 1.27 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate across 21 1/3 frames.
Rodríguez sits around 94-95 mph with his four-seam fastball and sinker. He mixes a changeup, slider and curveball while occasionally throwing a cutter. Scouting reports praise the heavy sinker as a plus ground-ball offering. Rodríguez got grounders at a huge 55% clip in the minors last year and is in that range again through his first month of this season.
Although it’s not the most overpowering arsenal, Rodríguez has the repertoire depth and control to profile as a potential mid-rotation arm. FanGraphs, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN and Baseball America each rank him as a Top 100 prospect and the #2 player in the system behind shortstop George Lombard Jr. MLB Pipeline slots him behind Lombard and Carlos Lagrange in the organization but has him in the back half of their Top 100 list. Keith Law of The Athletic ranked Rodríguez sixth in the system, expressing a bit more skepticism about the righty’s command but writing that he has a #2 starter ceiling if he throws enough strikes.
Rodríguez is eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive, meaning he’d earn a full year of service time if he finishes top two in AL Rookie of the Year voting. It seems unlikely he’ll place that highly, as it’s not clear how long a look he’ll get in his first big league stint. Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole are each on rehab assignments and could be back within the next few weeks. Rodríguez should get at least two or three turns but might be pushed back to Triple-A once Rodón and/or Cole are healthy. The Yankees have gotten excellent work out of their rotation aside from Gil’s four starts.
Looking At The Yankees’ Internal Bullpen Options
The Yankees’ bullpen has seen a lot of turnover this offseason. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver departed in free agency, both later signing with the Mets. The club non-tendered Jake Cousins, Scott Effross, Mark Leiter Jr., and Ian Hamilton. Jonathan Loaisiga saw his club option declined, while Allan Winans was released to pursue an opportunity in Japan.
The club did pick up their option on lefty Tim Hill and re-sign Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn as depth pieces. Still, the bullpen looks thinner than last year behind Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, and closer David Bednar. What options do the Yankees have in the system at present? Let’s take a look at the possibilities.
Along with Bednar and Doval, Bird was one of three key bullpen acquisitions that the Yankees made at the 2025 trade deadline. Unfortunately, he was the least productive of the three. Bird made three appearances in early August, allowing six earned runs on four hits, two home runs, and two unintentional walks in just two innings. On August 5, New York optioned him to Triple-A, where he stayed for the remainder of the season.
Bird has pitched 232 1/3 big-league innings with a 4.76 ERA since debuting in 2022. He owns a career 21.1% strikeout rate and a 9.8% walk rate, although he upped his strikeout rate to an above-average 26.6% in 55 1/3 innings in 2025. In addition to the strikeouts, he has a 70th-percentile groundball rate that could play up with strong infield defense from Ryan McMahon, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Anthony Volpe (if he regains his Gold Glove-caliber defense following shoulder surgery). Bird also has a plus sweeper and curveball according to Statcast, though he’ll need to improve his sinker (-6 run value) if he plans to compete for middle- and high-leverage innings.
The Yankees claimed Headrick off waivers from the Twins in February 2025. He was shuffled between Triple-A and the majors, pitching 23 big-league innings in 17 appearances before ending the year on the injured list with a left forearm contusion. The results were serviceable. Headrick posted a 3.13 ERA with similar peripherals and struck out 32.6% of hitters against a 7.6% walk rate. That said, despite being a left-handed pitcher, he showed pretty drastic reverse platoon splits in 2025, allowing a .922 OPS with four home runs to lefty batters compared to a .484 OPS against righties.
Headrick is primarily a fastball-slider pitcher. His fastball has slightly-below-average velocity, and he allowed a 50.0% hard-hit rate against the pitch in 2025. His slider could be a useful pitch, as he struck out 44.4% of hitters on the pitch in a limited sample this year. At present, with Yarbrough figuring to start the year in the rotation, Headrick is the only lefty in the bullpen aside from Hill. That said, he may be best utilized as a depth arm given his hard-hit rates and struggles against same-handed pitching.
The Yankees selected Winquest from the Cardinals’ system in the Rule 5 Draft last month. The 25-year-old righty was an eighth-round pick in 2022 and split the 2025 season between High-A and Double-A. In 106 innings across both levels, Winquest posted a 3.99 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate and an 8.5% walk rate. He lowered his ERA from 4.52 in 63 2/3 High-A innings to 3.19 in 42 1/3 innings at Double-A. He also displayed improved control by lowering his walk rate, although his groundball rate declined sharply from 55.6% to 36.7%. As with any Rule 5 pick, it would be a surprise to see Winquest last the entire year on the major-league roster. He would be best used in low-leverage spots.
De los Santos was shuffled between Triple-A and the majors for most of the year, making 25 big-league appearances with a 3.28 ERA in 35 2/3 innings. On the plus side, he got groundballs at a well-above-average rate of 55.4% and allowed just 0.25 HR/9. He used his mid-90s sinker 54.6% of the time to great effect, with a run value of six according to Statcast. On the down side, his strikeout and walk rates were worse than average. His breaking pitches both had negative run values, making it easier for hitters to time up the sinker. De los Santos has one option year remaining, so he’ll continue to function as a depth piece.
Elmer Rodriguez / Chase Hampton
Rodriguez and Hampton were added to the 40-man roster in November for Rule 5 protection. They are the team’s No. 3 and No. 8 prospects according to MLB.com. Hampton missed the entire 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery and only pitched 18 2/3 innings in 2024. He looks like the longer shot to contribute in the big-league bullpen, though his plus fastball and slider combo may earn him looks later in the summer. Rodriguez has the higher upside of the two. He reached Triple-A in 2025 and pitched 150 innings in total across three levels, posting a 2.58 ERA with a 29.0% strikeout rate. Like Hampton, Rodriguez’s fastball and slider both grade as plus pitches. He will be in the mix but will need to work on his control if he is to stick in the majors.
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As things currently stand, the Yankees’ bullpen has a mix of youth and depth options. Of the six players mentioned here, Bird has the most big-league experience, though he’ll need to re-establish himself after a rough introduction to New York over the summer. Rodriguez also has potential given his minor-league track record and high strikeout rate. That said, the other four profile as depth arms or have injury (Hampton) or durability concerns (Winquest). That leaves Bednar and Cruz as the high-leverage options, with Doval having a closer pedigree but coming off his own uneven debut in New York. Overall, the bullpen looks top-heavy and needs at least one or two reinforcements.
In the years since the Aroldis Chapman and Zack Britton deals, the team has been reluctant to sign high-leverage relievers to long-term contracts. They could opt to raise the bullpen’s floor by adding affordable middle relievers with big-league experience, as well as another proven lefty to complement Hill. Andrew Chafin fits the mold and is currently available in free agency. Although he missed time with injuries, he continued to dominate left-handed hitters in 2025, allowing just a .454 OPS against them. If the Yankees want to focus on high-leverage arms, they could look to the trade market instead, perhaps by re-engaging the Cardinals on JoJo Romero.
Yankees Select Spencer Jones, Elmer Rodriguez, Chase Hampton
The Yankees on Tuesday selected the contracts of outfielder Spencer Jones and righties Elmer Rodriguez and Chase Hampton, per a team announcement. They’re now on the 40-man roster and ineligible to be selected by another club in December’s Rule 5 Draft.
There are no surprises in this trio of additions. Hampton, Rodriguez and Jones rank among the Yankees’ top prospects and were sure to be protected. Jones is the most recognizable of the bunch thanks to a prodigious power display this summer. The 24-year-old popped 35 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A combined and turned plenty of heads when he swatted 13 round-trippers in his first 19 games after moving up to the higher of those two levels.
Jones is immensely strikeout prone, however, and fell into a deep slump after that jaw-dropping hot streak. Over his final 48 games and 183 plate appearances, Jones hit just .219/.289/.383 with a 42% strikeout rate. He could get a look at some point in 2026, but he’ll need to radically cut down on his strikeouts if he’s to become a productive big leaguer. Jones’ huge raw power and hulking 6’7″ stature have led to plenty of Aaron Judge comparisons, but even the strikeout-prone Judge punched out in just 23.9% of his plate appearances during his final Triple-A season. Jones was at 33.7% in Double-A and 36.6% in Triple-A.
Rodriguez, 22, came to the Yankees in a rare trade with their archrival Red Sox, sending catcher Carlos Narvaez the other direction. It has serious win-win potential. Narvaez became a prominent part of Boston’s catching corps in 2025, while Rodriguez climbed to Triple-A and posted a 2.58 ERA with a 29% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate in 150 minor league frames.
Hampton, 24, missed the entire season due to Tommy John surgery. He pitched only 18 2/3 innings in 2024 as well. That said, he’s a former sixth-round pick and touted prospect who tossed 106 2/3 frames with a 3.63 ERA while climbing to Double-A as a 21-year-old back in 2022. Scouting reports tout his plus curveball and slider. If he’s back to full health in ’26, he’ll begin the year in Double-A or Triple-A and could pitch his way into consideration for a big league look late in the summer — though he might be a more realistic 2027 rotation candidate.