Prior to Friday’s Rule 5 Draft, the Yankees made a series of roster moves that included trading reliever James Pazos to the Mariners.
The Yankees acquired 21-year-old right-handed starter Zack Littell from Seattle and assigned him to Single-A Tampa. That cleared a spot on the 40-man roster, but Brian Cashman was just getting started. Here’s everything else he did:
- Added INF Miguel Andujar, LHP Dietrich Enns, RHP Giovanny Gallegos, RHP Ronald Herrera, INF Jorge Mateo and RHP Yefrey Ramirez to the 40-man roster.
- Unconditionally released INF/OF Dustin Ackley.
- Designated RHP Nathan Eovaldi, LHP Joe Mantiply and RHP Nick Rumbelow for assignment.
- Outrighted RHP Branden Pinder to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
All of the new additions to the 40-man roster were saved from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft.
Andujar and Enns forced the Yankees’ hand after breakout seasons in the minors. Andujar hit .273/.332/.410 with 140 hits in 130 games between Single-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton, and Enns posted a sparkling 1.73 ERA in 26 games (22 starts) between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
As for Ackley, he hit .212 in 51 games with the Yankees from 2015-2016, and underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in May. He not only didn’t play well, but had no place on next year’s roster with utility guys like Tyler Austin and Rob Refsnyder around.
Eovaldi’s Yankee career isn’t necessarily over; there’s talk that the team will look to re-sign him to a cheaper deal. However, he suffered a torn flexor tendon and a partially-torn UCL in August after posting a hideous 4.76 ERA in 124.2 innings. The 26-year-old is expected to miss the entirety of 2017 and at least part of 2018, so don’t expect to see him back on a mound – in pinstripes or not – anytime soon.
Mantiply, 25, came up through the Tigers system and was claimed off waivers by the Yankees just a few weeks ago. He’s a hard-throwing lefty who had tons of success in Double-A and Triple-A.
Rumbelow was a seventh round draft pick by the Yankees in 2013, but moved quickly through the system and made his Major League debut in 2015. He underwent Tommy John Surgery in April, as did Pinder.
