As Opening Day draws near, it appeared that everything was aligning perfectly for Yankees prospect Everson Pereira to secure a spot on the team’s roster. With Giancarlo Stanton potentially out for the season due to elbow issues and Ben Rice, who was expected to fill in for Stanton, struggling with a .148 batting average and 10 strikeouts in 27 at-bats this spring, Pereira seemed like a strong contender.
Pereira has built an impressive minor league resume, with a career .269 batting average, a .344 on-base percentage, and a .482 slugging percentage. He underwent Tommy John surgery last year, which interrupted a promising season where he hit .265 with 10 home runs in 40 games at Triple-A. Pereira, who will turn 24 next month, was even considered a possible replacement for Rice to take over Stanton’s designated hitter role.
- Everson Pereira
Yankees hitting coach James Rowson praised Pereira’s progress, telling the New York Post, “I like him. This spring, it looks like he’s really square, and the baseball is up. I look at the spin, and the ball is spinning in a really good way. He doesn’t have a lot of topspin or sidespin. He’s got backspin off the balls he’s hitting. He’s got power—he can drive a baseball as good as anybody. Now, it’s just about getting that consistency.”
However, the Yankees have decided that Pereira still needs to work on that consistency in the minors. The team announced this week that they would be sending him down. Despite posting a solid .350/.440/.660 line this spring with two homers and three RBIs in nine games, his seven strikeouts in 20 at-bats raised concerns.
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