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Scott Effross

Tigers Sign Scott Effross To Minor League Contract

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January 5th: Effross will indeed get an invite to big league camp and will also make a salary of $950K in the majors, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.

January 4th: The Tigers signed right-hander Scott Effross to a minor league contract in December, as per Effross’ MLB.com profile page.  Effross has been assigned to Triple-A Toledo, and will presumably be a non-roster invite to the Tigers’ big league spring camp.

The 32-year-old sidearmer is looking to rebound from three straight injury-marred seasons.  A Tommy John surgery entirely wiped out Effross’ 2023 campaign, and a back surgery during that TJ rehab period kept Effross out of any game action until June 2024, and he ended up tossing 35 1/3 minor league innings that season as well as 3 1/3 MLB frames with the Yankees.  During Spring Training 2025, Effross then suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain that led to three more months on the shelf, and he amassed only 10 2/3 innings for New York while being frequently shuffled up and down from the minors.

While Effross was projected for just an $800K salary in his first year of arbitration eligibility, the Yankees chose to non-tender the righty in November.  It wasn’t an unexpected decision given Effross’ injury woes, and he’ll now look to try and re-establish himself and win a job in Detroit’s bullpen.  He has a minor league option remaining, as well as two more arb-eligible years if he can make the roster and recapture some of his early-career form.

Before the Tommy John surgery, Effross looked to be establishing himself as a bullpen weapon in his first two Major League seasons.  He debuted in 2021 as a member of the Cubs, and posted a 2.78 ERA, 27.9% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate, and 45.1% grounder rate over 71 1/3 combined innings with the Cubs and Yankees during the 2021-22 seasons.  New York was intrigued enough to acquire Effross in a one-for-one swap for Hayden Wesneski at the 2022 deadline, in what ended up being a nice trade for Chicago.

Effross’ few cups of coffee in the majors over the last two seasons have yielded only a 7.71 ERA and a 12.3% strikeout rate across 14 innings.  His K% was also diminished (through not to that extent) during his minor league work in 2024-25, and Effross struggled to a 6.37 ERA in 29 2/3 frames with at the Triple-A level last year.

American League Non-Tenders: 11/21/25

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Every American League team has officially announced their non-tender decisions. It was a quiet evening in terms of subtractions, with only the Rangers parting with any marquee players. All players who were non-tendered are free agents without going on waivers. A few teams dropped pre-arbitration players from the back of the 40-man roster. It’s possible they preferred not to expose them to waivers and are hopeful of re-signing them to non-roster deals.

Here’s a full list of today’s activity in the AL, while the National League moves are available here. All projected salaries are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

  • The Angels announced they’ve non-tendered outfielder Gustavo Campero and catcher Sebastian Rivero. Campero is a depth outfielder who has hit .202/.272/.346 over the past two seasons. Rivero operated as the club’s third catcher for most of the season but spent the final few weeks on the active roster. Neither player had been eligible for arbitration. All their arb-eligible players were easy calls to retain.
  • The Astros technically made one non-tender, dropping infielder Ramón Urías after he was designated for assignment earlier in the week. He’d been projected at $4.4MM.
  • The Athletics officially non-tendered outfielder JJ Bleday, the club announced. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday, so this was inevitable unless they found a trade partner. Bleday had been projected at $2.2MM.
  • The only non-tenders for the Red Sox were first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and reliever Josh Winckowski, each of whom had been designated for assignment on Tuesday. Lowe was projected at $13.5MM, while Winckowski was at $800K.
  • The Guardians non-tendered outfielder Will Brennan and relievers Sam Hentges and Nic Enright. The latter had been designated for assignment on Tuesday. Hentges hasn’t pitched since undergoing shoulder surgery in September 2024. He underwent a right knee procedure a few months ago and will be delayed this offseason. Brennan only appeared in six MLB games this year and underwent Tommy John surgery while in the minors in June. He’d been projected at $900K.
  • The Mariners non-tendered reliever Gregory Santos, reports Francys Romero. He’d only been projected at $800K, narrowly above the MLB minimum, so the move was about dropping him from the 40-man roster. Seattle acquired the 26-year-old righty from the White Sox over the 2023-24 offseason. He has only made 16 MLB appearances with a 5.02 earned run average over the past two years because of lat and knee injuries. Seattle also non-tendered relievers Trent Thornton and Tayler Saucedo (the latter of whom was designated for assignment on Tuesday). Thornton had been projected at $2.5MM and is coming off a 4.68 ERA through 33 appearances. He suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in August.
  • The Orioles non-tendered swingman Albert Suárez, the team announced. Everyone else in their arbitration class was offered a contract, surprisingly including first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan). Suárez, 36, was a solid depth starter in 2024. He was limited to five MLB appearances this past season by a flexor strain but is not expected to require surgery.
  • The Rangers non-tendered each of Adolis García, Jonah Heim, Josh Sborz and Jacob Webb. MLBTR covered those moves in greater detail.
  • The Rays only non-tendered outfielders Christopher Morel and Jake Fraley, each of whom had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reported last night that the Rays were open to bringing back Fraley at a lower price than his $3.6MM arbitration projection.
  • The Royals non-tendered outfielder MJ Melendez and reliever Taylor Clarke, per a club announcement. Melendez, who’d been projected at $2.65MM, was an obvious decision. The former top prospect never developed as hoped and is a career .215/.297/.388 hitter over parts of four seasons. Clarke isn’t as big a name but comes as the more surprising cut. He’d been projected at just $1.9MM and is coming off a 3.25 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate over 55 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
  • The Tigers are non-tendering utility player Andy Ibáñez, according to Romero. He’d been projected at $1.8MM. The righty-hitting Ibáñez had been a solid short-side platoon bat for Detroit between 2023-24. His production against southpaws dropped this year (.258/.311/.403), limiting his value. The Tigers optioned the 32-year-old to Triple-A in early June and kept him in the minors until shortly before the trade deadline. Detroit also dropped the six pitchers they’d designated for assignment earlier in the week: Tanner Rainey, Dugan Darnell, Tyler Mattison, Jason Foley, Jack Little and Sean Guenther.
  • The only Twins non-tender was outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who’d been designated for assignment this morning to make room for the Alex Jackson trade. Everyone in the arbitration class was brought back.
  • The White Sox non-tendered outfielder Mike Tauchman, as first reported by Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. The lefty hitter turned in a solid .263/.356/.400 line in 93 games this past season. Tauchman has gotten on base at plus rates in three straight years but was also non-tendered by the Cubs a year ago. The 34-year-old (35 next month) had been projected for a $3.4MM salary. The Sox also announced they’ve dropped lefty reliever Cam Booser and first baseman Tim Elko. Neither had been eligible for arbitration. The former posted a 5.52 ERA in 39 appearances after being acquired from the Red Sox last winter, while the latter hit .134 in his first 23 MLB games despite a 26-homer season in Triple-A.
  • The Yankees announced five non-tenders. Relievers Mark Leiter Jr., Scott Effross, Jake Cousins and Ian Hamilton were all cut loose, as was pre-arbitration righty Michael Arias. Leiter, who’d been projected at $3MM, never clicked in the Bronx after being acquired at the 2024 deadline. He posted a 4.89 ERA in 70 innings as a Yankee. Hamilton, Effross and Cousins were all projected just above the MLB minimum but are cut to clear roster space. Hamilton was on and off the active roster and posted a 4.28 ERA in 40 big league frames this year. Effross was limited to 11 appearances and has been plagued by various injuries for the past three and a half years, while Cousins is working back from Tommy John surgery. Arias has never pitched in the big leagues and could be brought back on a minor league deal.

The Blue Jays tendered contracts to all unsigned players on the 40-man roster.

Yankees Reinstate JT Brubaker

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The Yankees announced that right-hander JT Brubaker has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Robert Murray of FanSided reported on Brubaker’s activation prior to the official announcement. The 40-man roster is now full. Right-hander Scott Effross was optioned after last night’s game in a corresponding active roster move.

Brubaker, now 31, has technically been a Yankee for about a year and a half but is still looking to make his official debut in pinstripes. The Yankees acquired him from the Pirates in March of 2024, sending a player to be named later or cash to Pittsburgh in exchange for Brubaker and international bonus pool space. The PTBNL was later named as infielder Keiner Delgado.

In April of 2023, about a year before the trade, Brubaker had undergone Tommy John surgery. At the time of the deal, the Yankees surely expected a few more months of rehab but a few speed bumps have popped up and continually kept him on the shelf. He started a rehab assignment in June of last year but an oblique strain put him back on ice in July. He started a new rehab assignment in September but made just three outings that month before the winter kicked in.

The expectation was that he would be healthy coming into 2025. He and the Yanks avoided arbitration by agreeing to a salary of $1.82MM. Unfortunately, he suffered an unusual injury during the spring, somehow breaking three ribs while trying to avoid a comebacker. He landed on the 15-day IL to start the season and was on the 60-day version by the first day of April. He was able to start a rehab assignment a month ago and tossed 21 1/3 minor league innings with a 2.95 earned run average.

The Yanks stretched Brubaker out on his rehab assignment, getting to five innings in his most recent appearance, and he was also a starter as a Pirate. With Pittsburgh, he had a 4.99 ERA in 315 2/3 innings with a 23.3% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 44% ground ball rate.

He will probably be in a long relief role for the Yanks, behind the rotation of Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough. Brubaker has over five years of big league service time and therefore can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent. If he stays on the roster through the end of the year, he’ll have exactly six years of service time and will qualify for free agency.

Photo courtesy of Dave Nelson, Imagn Images

Yankees Place Eight Players On Injured List

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The Yankees announced eight injured list placements on Wednesday afternoon. Clarke Schmidt (rotator cuff tendinitis), JT Brubaker (rib fractures), Clayton Beeter (shoulder impingement), Ian Hamilton (virus), Scott Effross (hamstring strain) and Jonathan Loáisiga (rehab from elbow surgery) all landed on the 15-day injured list. As position players, Giancarlo Stanton (elbow epicondylitis) and DJ LeMahieu (calf strain) went on the 10-day IL. All placements were retroactive to March 24, the earliest date for 10-day or 15-day stints.

None of the moves come as a surprise. Loáisiga has been rehabbing last April’s UCL procedure and will be out at least into May. Stanton didn’t participate in Spring Training and faces an uncertain recovery timeline because of injuries to both elbows. Beeter has been throwing side sessions but didn’t see any game action in camp due to the shoulder issue. LeMahieu, Schmidt, Brubaker and Effross all suffered injuries in Spring Training. Hamilton isn’t hurt but didn’t make his Spring Training debut until last Thursday after being delayed by illness. He needs a couple weeks to continue his build-up.

The only surprise is that the Yanks did not place Jake Cousins on the 15-day IL this afternoon. He was delayed by a forearm strain and did not pitch in games this spring. Cousins has been throwing side sessions but it seems unlikely that the team would throw him directly into regular season action without any Spring Training appearances. It’s possible they’ll make another move when they officially set their Opening Day roster tomorrow.

One player who’ll certainly be on that roster: catcher J.C. Escarra. The Yankees announced over the weekend that the 29-year-old (30 next month) made the team, providing social media video of manager Aaron Boone informing him of that decision. Escarra secures the backup job behind Austin Wells and will make his major league debut once he gets into a game. The Yankees placed him on their 40-man roster at the beginning of the offseason so he wouldn’t reach minor league free agency.

A left-handed hitter, Escarra combined for a .261/.355/.434 line with nearly as many walks as strikeouts across 493 minor league plate appearances last season. The Yankees cleared a path for him to grab the backup job by trading Jose Trevino and Carlos Narváez over the winter. The spot was Escarra’s to lose entering camp, and he solidified it by hitting .302 with three homers in 19 games. Escarra was playing in the independent ranks and in Mexico as recently as 2023. Two years later, he’s breaking camp with an MLB team.

Scott Effross Diagnosed With Grade 2 Hamstring Strain

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Yankees right-hander Scott Effross exited his Grapefruit League debut after one pitch due to what looked to be a leg injury earlier this week. Manager Aaron Boone announced this morning that imaging has indeed revealed a notable injury: a Grade 2 strain of the reliever’s left hamstring (link via Greg Joyce of the New York Post). Effross received a platelet-rich plasma injection this morning and appears to be facing a relatively lengthy absence. “It’s going to take some time,” Boone told the Yankees beat.

It’s a brutal blow for a talented but snakebit reliever who’s dealt with myriad injuries in recent years. Acquired by the Yankees in a 2022 trade sending Hayden Wesneski to the Cubs, Effross has managed only 16 big league innings for New York since that deadline swap. He pitched 12 2/3 excellent innings down the stretch in ’22 (2.13 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate) but required Tommy John surgery late in the year.

That operation cost Effross the entire 2023 season. The hope had been that he’d be ready to go for the 2024 season, but Effross began experiencing back pain in the 2023-24 offseason and required surgery that December. Recovery from that second operation shelved him into mid-July. He allowed two runs in 3 1/3 big league innings last summer, spending the bulk of his time pitching in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he threw quite well. In 35 1/3 minor league frames last year, Effross logged a 2.55 earned run average with a solid 23.4% strikeout rate, an even stronger 6.6% walk rate and a mammoth 61.7% grounder rate. His already pedestrian sinker velocity dipped from a pre-surgery high of 90.7 mph to 89.4 mph in Scranton, but Effross’ results were clearly sharp in spite of that decline.

The Yankees haven’t provided a firm timetable. Two years ago, on Feb. 13, the Yankees announced a Grade 2 hamstring strain for Nestor Cortes, who was shut down from throwing for two weeks but recovered well enough to take the mound for his season debut on April 3. Even injuries with the same diagnosis can come with different timeframes, however. Cortes, for instance, didn’t require a PRP injection, which already signals that the two injuries aren’t necessarily analogous.

With Effross out of the picture for the time being, Boone’s bullpen will feature Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton, Tim Hill, Mark Leiter Jr. and trade acquisition Fernando Cruz. Marcus Stroman is trending toward a relief role as well, though the Yankees have been working to trade him this winter. Right-hander JT Brubaker, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2022 due to injury, is also in the mix given that he has five years of MLB service time and thus can’t be optioned without his consent. The Effross injury and a potential trade of Stroman could open the door for Clayton Beeter or a non-roster veteran like Tyler Matzek or Rob Zastryzny to win a job as well.

In 74 2/3 innings at the major league level, the 31-year-old Effross touts a 2.89 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate, 45.9% grounder rate and 0.72 homers per nine innings. He’s picked up 19 holds and four saves in 77 MLB appearances.

Yankees Outright Josh Maciejewski

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September 6: The Yankees announced that Maciejewski was outrighted to Triple-A, indicating he cleared waivers. He has the right to elect free agency by virtue of a previous career outright but it’s not yet clear if he’s chosen to do so.

September 1: The Yankees announced this morning that they have designated left-hander Josh Maciejewski for assignment. The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for Anthony Rizzo, whose activation from the 60-day IL was reported on yesterday. Rizzo takes one of four active roster spots created by yesterday’s demotions of Ben Rice and Will Warren as well as today’s expansion from 26 to 28 roster spots. Outfielder Duke Ellis was recalled to the majors alongside right-handers Scott Effross and Ron Marinaccio to fill the other three open spots.

Maciejewski, 29, was added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster back in June and has made four multi-inning relief appearances for the club in total. He has pitched well in that limited exposure in the majors, with a 2.57 ERA and a 25.9% strikeout rate in his seven innings of work at the big league level. Those strong results contrast sharply with his ugly performance in the minor leagues this year, however, as Maciejewski sports a 6.02 ERA in 46 1/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level with the Yankees this year. That’s not far off from his career numbers at the level, either, as in 40 career appearances at the highest level of the minors the lefty has struggled to a 5.61 ERA.

Given Maciejewski’s lackluster body of work in the minors, it’s not necessarily a shock that the club opted to part ways with the lefty despite his small sample success in the Bronx. The lefty’s departure makes room for the return of Rizzo, who figures to step into his previous role as the club’s everyday first baseman down the stretch now that he’s recovered from the forearm fracture that kept him sidelined since mid-June. The 35-year-old will look to return to the form he’s shown in previous seasons after struggling to a .223/.289/.341 slash line in 70 games prior to the injury.

He’ll be joined on the roster by Ellis, a 26-year-old rookie who made his big league debut with the White Sox earlier this year. Ellis has just four plate appearances in the big leagues under his belt and hasn’t hit much throughout his career in the minors, but he nonetheless figures to be a worthwhile addition to New York’s positional mix thanks to his blistering speed and solid defense in the outfield. Ellis has already stolen four bases without being caught in his limited time at the big league level, and he’s stolen at least 50 bags at the minor league level in each of the last three seasons.

As for the pitchers, Effross’s first appearance with the club this year will be his first time pitching on a major league mound since 2022, as he underwent Tommy John surgery shortly after being acquired from the Cubs at the 2022 trade deadline and then had his return to action further delayed by back surgery back in February. The sidearming righty has been very effective at the big league level when healthy enough to take the mound, with a 2.78 ERA and 2.63 FIP in 71 1/3 innings of work. He’ll join the bullpen alongside Marinaccio, who has a 2.53 ERA despite a 4.63 FIP in 21 1/3 innings of work this year.

Yankees Designate Cody Morris, Reinstate Scott Effross

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The Yankees announced a pair of roster moves, including the news that right-hander Cody Morris has been designated for assignment.  The 40-man roster spot was required since right-hander Scott Effross was reinstated from the 60-day injured list, and then optioned to Triple-A.

Morris was acquired from the Guardians last December in exchange for Estevan Florial, and though Morris has been called up a couple of times this season, he has yet to make his official debut in a Yankees uniform.  At the Triple-A level, Morris has a 4.25 ERA over 36 innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, with a glaring 16% walk rate undermining a solid 25.8% strikeout rate.

The control problems have been apparent during Morris’ brief run in the big leagues, as he has a 13.% walk rate over 31 2/3 innings with Cleveland in 2022-23, albeit with a 3.41 ERA.  The ERA breaks down as a 2.28 mark over 23 2/3 frames in 2022, but then a 6.75 ERA in eight innings last season, as Morris also missed time early in the season with a teres major strain.  Morris also had an inflated walk rate during his time with the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate in 2023, which likely made him an expendable arm for the Guards in the offseason.

Morris has worked primarily as a reliever over the last two seasons, though usually in multi-inning fashion given his past usage as a starting pitcher.  This ability to eat innings out of the pen could make him an interesting candidate to be claimed off waivers, if a rival club is able to overlook his walks (or, thinks it can harness Morris’ control).  Morris has never been outrighted before in his career, so if clears waivers here, he’ll have to report to the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in the event that the Yankees outright him off the 40-man roster rather than release him entirely.

The Cubs sent Effross to the Yankees at the trade deadline in 2022, and while his tenure in the Bronx had strong immediate results (a 2.13 ERA in 12 2/3 innings), Effross’ career was then put on hold by Tommy John surgery that October.  He also underwent a back surgery this past February that delayed his return even further, but Effross has posted a 3.86 ERA and very strong secondary metrics in 9 1/3 innings over eight appearances during his rehab assignment. Effross looks like an intriguing secret weapon to join New York’s bullpen at some point in the second half, which will be a boost to a team that figures to be looking for relief help anyway at this year’s deadline.

Brewers Trade Clayton Andrews To Yankees

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The Yankees have acquired left-hander Clayton Andrews from the Brewers in exchange for minor league righty Joshua Quezada, the teams announced Wednesday. New York transferred righty Scott Effross, who’s recovering from December back surgery (that was just announced today), to the 60-day injured list. Milwaukee designated Andrews for assignment last week.

Andrews, 27, made his big league debut with Milwaukee in 2023, though things didn’t go as he’d hoped. He pitched just 3 1/3 innings but was torched for ten earned runs on the strength of three homers in that brief cup of coffee.

Ugly as that tiny sample was, Andrews had much more encouraging results in the minors. He spent the bulk of the 2023 campaign with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville, pitching to a tidy 2.53 ERA in 57 frames out of the bullpen. Andrews fanned a hefty 31.1% of his opponents in Nashville and posted a solid 45.7% grounder rate, but his 13% walk rate was an eyesore that’ll clearly need improvement if he’s to carve out a big league role for himself.

A 17th-round pick by the Brewers back in 2018, Andrews still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, which will give the Yankees some flexible depth in the bullpen. He’s a three-pitch lefty who averaged 94.8 mph on his heater in 2023 and also mixed in a changeup and slider. Andrews’ changeup is considered his best pitch, hence the reverse splits he showed in ’23; righties hit him at just a .215/.312/.349 clip while fellow lefties managed a healthier .233/.337/.438 slash.

As for the Brewers’ end of the swap, they’ll pick up a 19-year-old righty who’s entering just his second professional season. Quezada signed with the Yankees out of Nicaragua during last year’s international amateur free agency period. He spent the season with the Yankees’ short-season affiliate in the Dominican Summer League, where he pitched 46 1/3 innings of 3.69 ERA ball. The 6’2″, 185-pound Quezada fanned exactly one quarter of his opponents and issued walks at a 9.4% clip. Quezada wasn’t one of the team’s high-profile signings on last year’s international market and didn’t rank among the Yankees’ top 30 prospects, but he turned in a nice debut campaign and will give the Brewers a lottery-ticket arm to stash in the lower levels of their system.

Scott Effross Out Several Months Due To Back Surgery

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided updates to the media today on several players on the roster. Notably, right-hander Scott Effross had back surgery in December and likely won’t be ready until the summer, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post. In a more benign update, catcher Jose Trevino had a calf strain a few weeks ago and is a bit behind but is still expected to be ready by Opening Day, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

Effross, 30, once looked like a nice pickup for the Yankees. The sidearmer made his debut in the majors with the Cubs in 2021 and was flipped to the Yankees at the 2022 deadline, with Hayden Wesneski going the other way. Between the two clubs, Effross made 74 appearances over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, allowing just 2.78 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 27.9% of batters faced, walked just 5.6% of them and got grounders on 45.1% of balls in play. He even looked to be moving towards a closer’s role, earning four saves and 19 holds in that time.

But he’s been on the shelf since late 2022 and now seems to be staying there. He landed on the injured list in August of 2022 due to a shoulder strain. In October of that year, it was announced that he would require Tommy John surgery, wiping out his entire 2023 season. Now this back surgery is going to prevent him from pitching in the first half of the 2024 campaign.

It’s an unfortunate series of events for a pitcher who was on such a positive trajectory. Assuming he is able to return at some point this summer, he’ll be looking to get back on track after a layoff of almost two full years. The Yanks will likely place him on the 60-day injured list once they need a roster spot. He’s slated to qualify for arbitration for the first time after this year and is on pace for free agency after 2027.

Without Effross, the high-leverage roles in the Yankee bullpen will go to Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loáisiga, Tommy Kahnle and Caleb Ferguson. Since the surgery happened months ago, the club has surely been aware of it and it shouldn’t suddenly lead to a change in their roster-building plans. But if they do decide to add to the relief mix, guys like Ryne Stanek, Brad Boxberger, Brad Hand and Aaron Loup are still available in free agency.

Trevino, 31, is projected to form part of the club’s catching duo alongside Austin Wells. He only played 55 games in 2023 due to wrist surgery but will be looking to get back on track to the form he showed in 2022. He played 115 games that year with roughly average offense for a catcher but his superlative defense led to him being valued as worth 3.8 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs,.

Boone: Yankees Working On “Potential Deal” To Add Pitcher

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The Yankees are working on a “potential” deal to add a pitcher to the staff, manager Aaron Boone told reporters prior to today’s season opener (Twitter link, with video, via SNY). Boone didn’t futher tip his hand as to whether the Yankees are talking to a free agent or discussing a possible trade. However, they’re opening the season with 14 position players and 12 pitchers on their roster, reflective of both a potentially incoming arm and an off-day on the schedule Friday.

“We’re going with just seven guys in the ’pen, obviously with an off-day tomorrow, where we have a potential deal going that’ll probably change that moving forward in the next day or two,” said Boone. “…A pitcher could be in play for us, that we add or not. Whether or not we do, we’d be in a position to pull from the minor leagues, too.”

New York’s pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries, evidenced by the sheer number of players who are beginning the season on the injured list. The Yankees announced today that lefty Carlos Rodon (forearm strain) and righties Luis Severino (lat strain), Lou Trivino (elbow strain), Tommy Kahnle (biceps tendinitis) and Frankie Montas (shoulder surgery) have all been placed on the 15-day injured list. Right-handers Scott Effross (2022 Tommy John surgery) and Luis Gil (2022 Tommy John surgery) both were placed on the 60-day IL. Center fielder Harrison Bader (oblique strain) and catcher Ben Rortvedt (shoulder aneurysm surgery) are both on the 10-day IL.

Also of note from Boone’s media session today, the skipper indicated that not only will Oswaldo Cabrera get the Opening Day start in left field — but he’ll open the season as the team’s primary left fielder (Twitter link via Joel Sherman of the New York Post). Aaron Hicks will still get some time against left-handed pitching, and Cabrera’s versatility means he’ll occasionally line up at other spots, but it seems the current plan is for him to be the most frequently used option in left field.

The 24-year-old Cabrera made his big league debut in 2022, slashing .247/.312/.429 in 171 plate appearances. Originally expected to be in more of a versatile infield/outfield utility role, the switch-hitting Cabrera seized a more prominent role with a monster spring showing. In 57 plate appearances, he batted .340/.386/.623 with four homers, three doubles, four walks (7%) and 10 strikeouts (17.5%).

The Yankees also confirmed some previously known/reported moves. Top prospect Anthony Volpe’s contract has been formally selected, and he’ll open the season as the Yankees’ primary shortstop. Right-hander Jhony Brito was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and is expected to start the team’s third game of the season on Sunday. And, as was widely reported yesterday, the Yankees signed outfielder/first baseman Franchy Cordero to a Major League contract and formally added him to their Opening Day roster.

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