The New York Yankees announced today that they have invited 23 additional players to participate in Major League Spring Training next month. The list includes 11 players signed to minor league contracts with an invitation to the big league camp, six top 10 prospects according to Baseball America and nine players originally drafted by the Yankees.
63 players in total will report to camp in two weeks.
.@Yankees sign 11 players to @MiLB deals with invites to #SpringTraining, including INFs Pete Kozma, Ruben Tejada: https://t.co/PREsxkCqYM
— MLBRosterMoves (@MLBRosterMoves) January 31, 2017
Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield and James Kaprielian are the biggest names among the invitees. Torres is the Yankees consensus top prospect while Frazier and Sheffield were the main pieces in the trade with the Cleveland Indians that sent Andrew Miller to the eventual American League Champions last summer. Kaprielian, coming off an injury-plagued 2016, looks to rebound and fortify his position as the team’s top pitching prospect.
Veterans Pete Kozma, Donovan Solano and Ruben Tejada stand out as possible candidates to make the big league squad as bench players. Kozma is a solid defender but has struggled at the plate in his career, hitting .222 in five big league seasons. The 28-year-old shortstop appeared in 130 games for the Triple-A Champion Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in 2016 where he hit .209.
Solano appeared in nine games for the Yankees last season, hitting .227 with one home run. In 131 games for Scranton, Solano hit .319 and lead the International League with 163 hits. He’s a safe bet to start with Scranton this season to provide insurance if someone were to get hurt in the Bronx.
Tejada is a former New York Met and like Solano and Kozma, will provide insurance throughout the infield. All three of these veteran infielders seem like long shots to make the big league club but provide solid, veteran leadership for the minor leaguers.
Other players invited include pitchers Chance Adams, Jordan Montgomery, Nick Rumbelow, outfielder Dustin Fowler and infielder Tyler Wade. Adams and Fowler are the eighth and ninth best prospects in the Yankees organization, according to Baseball America. Adams went 13-1 with a 2.33 ERA last season, shooting up the prospect ranks. Fowler hit .281/.311/.458 with 30 doubles and 15 triples while at Double-A Trenton a year ago.
No. 4 prospect Jorge Mateo and No. 6 prospect Aaron Judge will also be in spring training with the major league club as members of the 40-man roster.
The full list is below.
Today the @Yankees announced 23 non-roster invitees to Major League Spring Training. PRESS RELEASE: https://t.co/5vcJjc7OXq pic.twitter.com/4wXnMXhNtd
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) January 31, 2017
