Over the weekend, the New York Yankees made their first round of roster cuts during spring training, sending pitchers Sean Boyle, Chase Hampton (who is out for the season), Cristian Hernandez, Kevin Stevens, and Jayvien Sandridge, along with outfielder Brennen Davis, to minor-league camp.
On Monday, infielder Roderick Arias and pitcher Cam Schlittler were also reassigned. This move is mostly procedural, as neither player is close to making their MLB debuts, with 2025 expected to be a crucial developmental year for them.
Despite being reassigned, both had strong starts to spring training—Arias was 3-for-7 with a double and a run scored, while Schlittler pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on two hits and four walks, striking out five. Not bad for two players still working their way up in the organization.
As the roster shrinks to the 26 players heading north, fans should stay tuned to every decision to keep track of the rising talent throughout the season. Schlittler impressed in High-A last year before being moved to Triple-A, while Arias wrapped up his first full professional season after being signed as the top international free agent in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are preparing for a Monday night game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, where they will field their most complete lineup so far. Max Fried will make his Yankees debut, and aside from Austin Wells and Jasson Dominguez not participating, this will be the closest lineup we’ve seen to an Opening Day group.
With Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Luis Gil, and Scott Effross likely to miss the start of the season, and Clarke Schmidt’s status still uncertain, the Yankees have plenty of work to do in the next two weeks to finalize their lineup and starting rotation.
Hopefully, the injuries stop soon so the team’s depth can hold up at the start of the season. It will also be useful to get more looks at Grisham, Dom Smith, Alex Jackson, and Oswald Peraza, with additional appearances from Ben Rice being a positive.
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