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The Yankees Are Showing The Importance Of Minor League Deals

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Every offseason, there are huge moves that grab headlines and have the ability to transform franchises. Top free agents get nine-figure deals while other high quality players are traded for top prospects. Though there are also transactions that might fly under the radar but still go on to play an important role in the future, such as waiver claims and minor league deals.

The Yankees are illustrating the importance of those minor league deals this year, as various injuries have forced them to turn to players that weren’t on the roster initially. Let’s highlight some players who had to settle for non-roster pacts but have gone on to earn meaningful playing time for the Yanks in 2023.

December 16, 2021 – right-hander Jimmy Cordero

December 14, 2022 – first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers

December 23, 2022 – right-handers Ryan Weber and Nick Ramirez

December 31, 2022 – outfielder Willie Calhoun

December 31, 2022 – outfielder Billy McKinney

February 5, 2023 – right-hander Ian Hamilton

The Yankees have dealt with a number of significant injuries this year. Aaron Judge went on the injured list in early May due to a hip strain and is now there again thanks to a toe sprain. Harrison Bader began the season on the IL due to an oblique strain. Though he eventually returned, he’s now back on the IL a second time because of a hamstring strain. Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson are with the club now but have missed significant time with their own ailments. In addition to those injuries, they also dealt with the struggles of Aaron Hicks, which eventually led to his release. All of that has created opportunities for other players, with each of Calhoun, Bauers and McKinney getting roster spots.

Calhoun had previously received chances from the Rangers and Giants but had continued to struggle. He had a career batting line of .240/.299/.404 as of this winter for a wRC+ of 84. But he had always hit well in the minors and was a former top 100 prospect. He’s now been given a roster spot with the Yankees and has received 140 plate appearances for the season. He’s walked in 9.3% of his plate appearances while striking out at just a 12.1% clip, launching five home runs in the process. His .238/.307/.413 batting line amounts to a 98 wRC+, indicating he’s been just barely below league average. For an emergency fill-in guy, that’s not half bad, and he might even get better results if his .238 batting average on balls in play ticks up closer to the .297 league average.

Bauers was in a fairly similar situation, having once been a top 100 guy who struggled in auditions with Tampa, Cleveland and Seattle. He hit .213/.307/.348 in the majors prior to this season, leading to an 82 wRC+. But in 104 plate appearances as a Yankee this year, he’s hitting .222/.308/.456 for a wRC+ of 109. He’s striking out in 32.7% of his trips to the plate but is also walking at an 11.5% clip.

Like those two, McKinney had also been on top 100 lists in the past. He had been put into action with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets, Dodgers and Athletics, but had hit .206/.277/.387 for a wRC+ of 77 by the end of 2022. He was called up recently and has only been in seven games so far this year, but he’s put up a huge .320/.320/.640 showing in that small sample. His ability to play center field is huge for the club, with each of Bader, Judge and Greg Allen on the injured list.

The bullpen is another area where the Yanks have dealt with significant challenges. Scott Effross seemed to be emerging as a key piece for them last year but required Tommy John surgery in October, effectively ruling him out for 2023. Jonathan Loáisiga made just three appearances before requiring surgery for a bone spur, with his return still several months away. Lou Trivino began the year on the injured list and ultimately required Tommy John surgery in May, which will prevent him from contributing anything this year. Tommy Kahnle was supposed to play a meaningful role after signing a two-year, $11.5MM deal in the offseason but he was on the IL for the first two months of the schedule.

Those injuries have opened the door for the minor league signees listed above. Cordero was signed way back in the 2021-2022 offseason but the Yankees selected his contract at the end of last year to prevent him from becoming a free agent. He’s tossed 27 2/3 innings with a 28.2% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 55.9% ground ball rate. He has a 3.58 ERA but probably deserves even better since he has a 66.4% strand rate, leading to a 2.70 FIP and 3.07 SIERA. Ramirez has a 1.64 ERA in a smaller sample of 11 innings. Hamilton is currently on the IL but has a 1.23 ERA in 22 innings thus far on the season. Weber’s season is now in jeopardy as Tommy John surgery might be required, but he posted a 3.14 ERA in 14 1/3 innings before landing on the 60-day IL.

None of these players is going to be voted the Most Valuable Player or the Cy Young winner, but they have nonetheless showed the importance of depth. The Yankees been without key players like Judge and Bader while others have been slumping badly, but they haven’t been buried in the standings. They are 39-30 and still holding onto a playoff spot. Despite having one of the highest payrolls in the league with plenty of high-paid stars on the roster, they have had a few games recently where their entire outfield was guys whom they’d signed to minor league deals. Thanks to the contributions of these various players, they are hanging in the race with the all-important trade deadline just over the horizon. There’s an old saying that there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal, and these pacts are looking quite good for the Yanks right now.

Yankees Select Billy McKinney

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The Yankees announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Billy McKinney. He will take the active roster spot of Aaron Judge, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right great toe sprain. That move was reported on last night and is retroactive to June 4. To open a spot for McKinney on the 40-man roster, right-hander Ryan Weber was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

McKinney, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees this winter and has been having a great season in Triple-A thus far. He’s walked in 13.8% of his plate appearances while striking out at a 20% clip. He has nine home runs and is slashing .274/.388/.511 for a wRC+ of 127.

However, minor league success is nothing new for McKinney. He has developed a pattern of raking in Triple-A and then scuffling in the majors, with various clubs around the league giving him chances that he’s failed to take advantage of. Dating back to 2018, he’s played for the Yankees, Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets, Dodgers and Athletics. He’s received 768 plate appearances in the big leagues but hit just .206/.277/.387 in those for a wRC+ of 77. His minor league slash line in that same time frame is .261/.359/.498 for a wRC+ of 123.

He’ll now get another shot to succeed in the show, which has been spurred on the Yankees’ outfield mix dealing with various injuries. Harrison Bader and Greg Allen were already on the injured list and now Judge is joining them, subtracting three options from the center field depth chart. McKinney is capable of playing all three outfield spots and first base, so will give them a bit of versatile depth alongside players like Jake Bauers, Willie Calhoun, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Giancarlo Stanton.

McKinney is out of options and can’t be sent back down to the minors without being exposed to waivers first. Even in that case, he’d have the right to elect free agency since he has a previous career outright. If he finally manages to break out against big league pitching, the Yankees could keep him around for quite a while via arbitration. He would cross three years of service time this year if he stays up and would be slated for free agency after 2026 if he continued to justify his roster spot.

As for Weber, he was placed on the injured list on the weekend due to a forearm strain. There’s still no official word on what’s next for him but the fact that he’s been transferred to the 60-day IL isn’t a good sign. He’ll now be ineligible until the first week of August at the earliest.

Yankees Sign Billy McKinney To Minors Contract

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The Yankees have signed outfielder Billy McKinney to a minor league deal, according to MiLB.com’s official transactions page.  McKinney has been assigned to the team’s Triple-A affiliate.

This is McKinney’s second stint in the organization, as he was initially acquired as part of the four-play package sent by the Cubs to the Yankees for Aroldis Chapman prior to the 2016 trade deadline.  New York then moved McKinney as part of another deadline deal almost exactly two years later, as McKinney and Brandon Drury were traded to the Blue Jays in 2018 for J.A. Happ.

These moves have been only two entries in what has become a journeyman career for McKinney, though the former 24th-overall pick is still only 28 years old.  McKinney has played in each of the last five Major League seasons, suiting up at the MLB level for 263 games with six different teams.  Only two of those games were in the Yankee pinstripes, which also marked the very first two games of McKinney’s big league career.

Once seen as a top-100 prospect and a possible future center fielder, McKinney has mostly settled into a role as a corner outfielder and even a part-time first baseman.  He has a career .206/.277/.387 slash line and 28 homers over 768 career plate appearances in the majors, with that home run total at least hinting at the power potential McKinney showed earlier in his career and in the minors.  While the constant shutting between teams and going up and down from the minors surely hasn’t helped McKinney find any rhythm at the plate, he has hit only .177/.261/.328 in 357 PA since the start of the 2021 season.  That includes a dismal .331 OPS over 57 PA with the Athletics last season.

However, McKinney also has a .271/.348/.511 slash line and 42 homers over 992 career PA at the Triple-A level, hinting at why teams are continually willing to see if any of that pop could eventually translate to the majors.  Obviously, McKinney has an age and experience advantage over Triple-A pitching, and a lot of his biggest numbers came in the homer-happy 2019 minor league season and in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League in 2021.  Still, the Yankees can use Spring Training to see whether or not McKinney might have any late-bloomer potential, and could help add some outfield depth if he breaks camp with the team (McKinney is out of minor league options).

A’s Designate Billy McKinney For Assignment

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The A’s announced they’ve selected outfielder Luis Barrera onto the MLB roster. In a corresponding move, corner outfielder Billy McKinney has been designated for assignment.

Barrera was DFA himself during the season’s first week. He passed through outright waivers unclaimed and remained in the organization; a month later, he makes his return to the majors after getting off to a nice start with Triple-A Las Vegas. Over 101 plate appearances, the left-handed hitter owns a .286/.347/.473 line with three homers and a couple stolen bases. That’s a better showing — at least from a power perspective — than Barrera had with the Aviators last season, when he hit .276/.348/.393 with four homers in 96 games.

The 26-year-old Barrera has only six big league games under his belt, all of them coming last season. He’s an excellent runner with ample experience at all three outfield spots in the minor leagues. Bringing him back to the majors in place of McKinney affords manager Mark Kotsay a bit more defensive flexibility, although Oakland already has a pair of strong center fielders in Ramón Laureano and Cristian Pache.

Barrera also has a minor league option year remaining, meaning the A’s can bounce him between Oakland and Vegas for the rest of the season now that he’s back on the 40-man. That wasn’t the case for McKinney, who is out of options. That lack of roster flexibility has played a part in the 27-year-old bouncing throughout the league over the past year-plus.

A former Oakland first-rounder, McKinney also played in the Cubs’ system before breaking into the big leagues with the Yankees in 2018. Traded to the Blue Jays at that summer’s deadline, he spent a couple years with Toronto before changing hands frequently via waivers. McKinney suited up with each of the Brewers, Mets and Dodgers in 2021. He tallied a personal-high 300 plate appearances between the three clubs but hit just .192/.280/.358.

After the season, Los Angeles traded McKinney to the Rangers. Texas non-tendered him a week later, and he caught on with his original organization via minor league deal in Spring Training. McKinney broke camp but got off to a brutal .096/.158/.173 start over 57 plate appearances before the A’s decided to move on.

Oakland will have a week to trade McKinney or expose him to waivers. He has never passed through the waiver wire unclaimed in his career, but the extent of this year’s struggles could deter other clubs from taking a shot. Any team that acquired him would have to keep him on their active roster or designate him for assignment themselves. If McKinney were to clear waivers, he doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment.

Athletics Select Five Players, Designate Sam Selman

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The A’s announced their Opening Day roster this afternoon, and five non-roster invitees were selected to make the big league club. Pitchers Justin Grimm, Dany Jiménez, Zach Jackson and Jake Lemoine were all added to the MLB roster, as was corner outfielder Billy McKinney.

Grimm, Jiménez and McKinney each have previous big league experience. All three were signed from other organizations this offseason. Grimm is up for his ninth MLB season, his first since a four-game stint with the Brewers in 2020. The right-hander had a nice showing in the middle of the last decade with the Cubs, posting a 3.36 ERA in 171 1/3 innings between 2014-16. He hasn’t found much major league success in the past five years, but he punched out an excellent 33.6% of opponents with the Mariners Triple-A affiliate last season.

Jiménez’s big league time consists of two appearances with the Giants in 2020. The righty has been of interest to the Oakland front office for some time, as they selected him in the Rule 5 draft at the end of that season. He didn’t stick on the active roster, though, and the 28-year-old spent last season at Triple-A in the Blue Jays system. Jiménez pitched to a 2.22 ERA with an incredible 39% strikeout rate there, although he also walked 13.4% of batters faced.

McKinney is a former A’s first-rounder. Traded to the Cubs before he made his MLB debut, he’s suited up with five different teams over the past four years. The left-handed hitting outfielder owns a .215/.286/.404 line in a bit more than 700 plate appearances. McKinney has flashed some power potential, but he’s punched out in 26% of his trips to the dish. The 27-year-old joins Stephen Piscotty, Seth Brown and Chad Pinder in the corner outfield mix for skipper Mark Kotsay.

Jackson, 27, was a third-round pick by the Blue Jays out of the University of Arkansas in 2016. The 6’4″ righty — who has worked exclusively out of the bullpen as a pro — was selected by the A’s in the minor league phase of the 2020 Rule 5 draft. He split last season between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas, working 28 innings of 2.57 ERA ball across the two levels. The Tulsa native remarkably fanned 41.2% of opponents, albeit with an 11.4% walk rate.

Lemoine was a fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 2015 out of the University of Houston. The right-hander has also worked solely in relief as a pro, pitching his way up to Triple-A in the Texas system. Lemoine hit minor league free agency at the end of the season and signed with the A’s. He owns a 4.81 ERA with an underwhelming 18.9% strikeout percentage in that time, but Lemoine has induced grounders on over the half the balls in play against him in each of his Triple-A seasons.

To create 40-man roster space, the A’s needed to free three spots. They’ve designated southpaw Sam Selman for assignment, tweets Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. The other two spots, according to the club’s transactions tracker at MLB.com, were freed by placing pitchers Deolis Guerra and Brent Honeywell Jr. on the 60-day injured list.

Selman just landed in Oakland last month when he was claimed off waivers from the Angels. The 31-year-old southpaw has pitched with the Giants and Anaheim over the past three seasons, combining for a 4.77 ERA in 54 2/3 frames. Selman doesn’t have particularly strong strikeout, walk or ground-ball numbers, but he’s been a nightmare for left-handed hitters. Same-handed batters have just a .171/.307/.329 line in 102 plate appearances against Selman. He has a minor league option remaining.

Guerra’s and Honeywell’s absences were expected. The former recently underwent surgery after experiencing forearm tightness this spring. The latter was shut down from throwing indefinitely after suffering an olecranon stress reaction in his elbow.

A’s Sign Billy McKinney To Minor League Deal

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The Athletics announced their signing of outfielder Billy McKinney to a minor league pact. The deal includes an invitation to Major League Spring Training. It’s the third type of signing for Oakland today, after a waiver claim of Sheldon Neuse and a blockbuster trade with the Blue Jays.

Now 27-years-old, McKinney had a dizzying 2021 season in which he suited up for three different teams. Between the Brewers, Mets, and the Dodgers, the left-handed hitter slashed .192/.280/.358. Only his 39-game stint with the Mets yielded positive offensive results (110 OPS+), but McKinney still provided plus defensive value at both outfield corners and first base for his 2021 employers.

McKinney netted one more employer in 2021, as an offseason deal between LA and Texas saw the Dodgers deal McKinney and fellow outfielder Zach Reks for cash. The Rangers held onto Reks but non-tendered McKinney a week later, pushing the latter into free agency and teeing him up for today’s reunion with the team that selected him 24th overall in the 2013 amateur draft.

Now that Oakland is in full fire sale mode, McKinney stands a reasonable chance at claiming a spot on the team’s bench, with a chance for more given the in-flux state of the roster. While he’s yet to find much consistency at the major league level, McKinney’s age, pedigree, and Triple-A success suggest there’s still upside to be had for both player and club.

American League Non-Tenders: 11/30/21

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The deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players has come and gone. The Tigers’ decision to non-tender Matthew Boyd — more on that here — represents the most prominent name cast into free agency tonight, but here’s a quick rundown of the rest of the non-tenders in the American League.

Note that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco also has a rundown of this year’s National League non-tenders, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz published his annual projected arbitration salaries earlier this offseason.

Onto the transactions…

  • Outfielder Tim Locastro was non-tendered by the Red Sox, the team announced. The speedy HBP-magnet was claimed off waivers from the Yankees earlier this month after an injury-marred season. He is likely to be an in-demand depth option for teams if his ACL tear recovery goes well.
  • The Rangers announced that outfielder Billy McKinney and catchers David Garcia and Yohel Pozo were non-tendered. Texas also assigned outfielder DJ Peters outright to Triple-A Salt Lake after he went unclaimed on waivers.
  • The Royals non-tendered lefty Richard Lovelady, per a club announcement. Lovelady underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2021 season and is expected to be sidelined for the entirety of the 2022 season.
  • The Twins non-tendered right-hander Juan Minaya, left-hander Danny Coulombe and right-hander Trevor Megill, per a team announcement. Megill’s non-tender is particularly curious, as he was only just claimed off waivers a few hours ago and was not arbitration-eligible. Presumably, the team will try to quickly re-sign him to a minor league pact and bring him to Spring Training as a depth piece.
  • Infielder Phil Gosselin has been non-tendered by the Angels, per an announcement from the team. The journeyman saw a career-high 373 plate appearances in 2021, but is unlikely to challenge that number next year owing to below average offensive and defensive metrics.

Rangers Acquire Billy McKinney, Zach Reks From Dodgers

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The Rangers announced they’ve acquired corner outfielders Billy McKinney and Zach Reks from the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. Both players were designated for assignment by Los Angeles last Friday, as many teams cleared roster space for prospects whom they didn’t want to leave eligible for the Rule 5 draft.  Texas’ 40-man roster tally is up to 39.

McKinney has bounced around the league a fair amount this year. He opened the season with the Brewers but landed with the Mets via minor trade a few weeks into the season. After two months in Queens, McKinney was designated for assignment and traded to the Dodgers. The 27-year-old finished out the season in Southern California.

Between the three clubs, the left-handed hitting McKinney tallied exactly 300 plate appearances. It was a career-high in playing time, but the former first-rounder didn’t consistently perform at the plate. While he had a solid run with the Mets, McKinney struggled badly with the Brew Crew and Dodgers and ultimately managed a meager .192/.280/.358 season line with nine home runs. His 10.7% walk rate was solid, but McKinney also fanned at a higher-than-average 26.3% clip and didn’t hit for a ton of power. He’s out of minor league option years, so he’ll need to either break camp with Texas in 2022 or again be made available to the rest of the league.

Reks has essentially no big league body of work to speak of, with just ten MLB plate appearances under his belt. The 28-year-old is an accomplished minor league hitter, though, with a career .295/.383/.487 line on the farm. That includes a .282/.382/.529 showing across 764 plate appearances with the Dodgers’ top affiliate in Oklahoma City, where Reks has shown a promising combination of patience and power.

He’s a defensively-limited player with strikeout concerns, but there’s little harm for the Rangers in adding him for nothing more than cash considerations. The left-handed hitting Reks still has a pair of options remaining, so he can shuttled up and down between Arlington and Triple-A Round Rock through the end of the 2023 campaign if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

Dodgers Select Five Players

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The Dodgers have filled their 40-man roster, adding five players to their roster in advance of the Rule 5 deadline per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio. The players being added are infielders Jacob Amaya, Eddys Leonard, and Jorbit Vivas, outfielder James Outman, and right-handed pitcher Michael Grove. In corresponding moves, outfielders Billy McKinney and Zach Reks have been designated for assignment.

Each of Amaya, Leonard and Vivas appeared on the back half of the Dodgers’ midseason top 30 prospects ranking at Baseball America. Amaya’s a well-regarded middle infielder but struggled offensively in Double-A this past season. Leonard and Vivas haven’t yet advanced beyond High-A, but they’re both infielders with good low minors numbers and some offensive upside.

The Dodgers acquired McKinney from the Mets in July. He struggled mightily down the stretch with L.A., though, and his overall .192/.280/.358 line over 300 plate appearances with three teams was well below-average. McKinney draws a fair amount of walks, but he’s never quite tapped into enough power to offset high strikeout totals and a limited defensive profile. He’ll either be traded or waived in the coming days.

Reks made a brief big league debut in 2021, tallying ten plate appearances over six games. He spent the rest of the season at Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he raked at a .280/.382/.539 clip in 379 plate appearances. Reks is already 28 and has essentially no big league body of work, but it’s possible another club takes a shot on his strong track record of minor league performance. He still has a pair of minor league option years remaining.

Dodgers Remove David Price, Billy McKinney For NLCS

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The Dodgers narrowly survived a five-game tilt with their rival Giants, but now they must quickly turn the page and prepare for a seven-game NLCS rematch with the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately for Dodger fans, the club will continue without star first baseman Max Muncy. The injury the knocked Muncy out of the lineup in game 162 will keep him out at least through the World Series.

Here’s how the rest of the roster breaks down for the NLCS…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The most notable subtraction from the NLDS roster is southpaw David Price. He’s essentially replaced on the roster by the southpaw Bruihl. Though Price was on the NLDS roster, he did not appear in a game against the Giants. Bruihl provided the Dodgers with a more traditional bullpen lefty while giving up the potential length provided by Price. The veteran Price has plenty of postseason experience, whereas Bruihl is a 24-year-old rookie with just 21 big league games under his belt.

Regardless, it will be Bruihl in the bullpen alongside Vesia preparing for showdowns with Freddie Freeman, Eddie Rosario, or Joc Pederson. Bruihl faced 43 lefties over his 18 1/3 Major League innings, compared to just 30 right-handers. Those same-handed hitters struggled to a .150/.209/.150 mark with just six hits – none for extra bases. Of course, Freeman is usually protected in the lineup by righty Austin Riley, and with the three-batter rule, Bruihl likely won’t escape usage against opposite-handed hitters if he makes an appearance.

They also removed outfielder/first baseman Billy McKinney from the roster. The well-traveled McKinney had mostly been used as a late game replacement at first base. With Beatty, Pujols, and Bellinger on the roster, however, that’s a role the Dodgers should have no trouble filling. Manager Dave Roberts likely trusts both Beatty and Bellinger at first late in games, depending on what the match-ups at the plate dictate.

What is interesting is that the Dodgers chose to add an additional pitcher for this round. Right-hander Evan Phillips will give Roberts another arm with which to mix-and-match. They now have 13 pitchers and 13 position players. Phillips, 27, is a well-traveled righty who has logged innings in his professional career with the Braves, Orioles, Rays, and Dodgers. He made one appearance with Tampa this season before being claimed off waivers by the Dodgers. He appeared seven times down the stretch for the Dodgers, logging more than one inning in five of those seven outings.

The decision to remove McKinney and add Phillips leaves Roberts with a five-man bench. Most days, Pujols, Barnes, Beatty, Souza Jr., and Lux will be available to Roberts off the bench.

As for the rotation, the Dodgers are going with a bullpen game in game one, with Knebel serving as the opener, just as he did in game five against the Giants. Scherzer and Buehler should line up for games two and three.

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