The Yankees continued to tweak the backend of their 40-man roster on Wednesday, claiming outfielder Yanquiel Fernández off waivers from the Rockies.
Proper-hander Dom Hamel, lately claimed off waivers himself, was designated for project to clear a spot for Fernández.
A former top-100 prospect, the 23-year-old Fernández is a lefty-swinging nook outfielder, so he initiatives as a depth piece after the Yankees misplaced some Triple-A outfielders in current months. The Cuba native performed his first 52 main league video games for Colorado final season and hit .225 with a .613 OPS, 4 residence runs and 11 RBI.
Fernández has demonstrated some pop within the minors, totaling 77 dingers over 1,816 at-bats for the Rockies’ associates. He hit .284 with an .849 OPS, 13 residence runs and 39 RBI over 64 video games at Triple-A final season.
Most of Fernández’s defensive work has are available in proper, the place he has a cannon for an arm. He averaged 97.2 mph on his throws final season, per Baseball Savant, which put him within the 100th percentile and ranked second behind Pirates heart fielder Oneil Cruz.
Fernández is the most recent ex-Rockie to affix the Yankee because the summer time, becoming a member of Angel Chivilli, Jake Chook and Ryan McMahon.
With a minor league possibility remaining, Fernández offers the Yankees an extra outfielder with main league expertise after Michael Siani was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers earlier this week. The Yankees have additionally introduced in Marco Luciano and Seth Brown, amongst others, although these two should not on the 40-man roster.
One thing must go mistaken for any of those gamers to make an affect on the Yankees, as Aaron Decide, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger are slated to start out for the membership in 2026. There’s additionally Jasson Domínguez, presently projected to be the fourth outfielder with the crew nonetheless exploring the addition of a right-handed hitter, and prospect Spencer Jones.
