The New York Yankees have announced the MiLB signings of utilityman Pablo Reyes and RHP Cristian Hernandez today, as the two of them will not get 40-man roster spots but will be assigned to their MiLB affiliates. Reyes, a 31-year-old with 234 games of MLB experience, has a career 78 wRC+ while playing big-league games for the Pirates, Brewers, Red Sox, and Mets. Hernandez is a 24-year-old right-hander who came out of the bullpen and fired 42.1 innings at Double-A, posting a 3.19 ERA with 44 strikeouts to just nine walks.
Yankees Make 2 MiLB Signings As Rule 5 Deadline Approaches
The Yankees will add some more utility depth in Pablo Reyes, who played for the Red Sox and Mets last season as he served as a defensive substitution and pinch-running threat. His offense isn’t great, posting a .658 OPS across his Major League career, but he’s had spurts of success with the Red Sox and has shown to be capable of coming up in a pinch and providing some value as a do-it-all defender.
His power numbers at the MiLB level improved when he joined the Mets as he smacked 11 home runs in 63 Triple-A games, posting a 124 wRC+, but it’s unlikely that the Yankees view him as anything more than veteran MiLB depth. As for Cristian Hernandez, his arm and upside could present some value for New York as he had a strong season in Double-A with the Phillies’ organization.
The right-hander had an excellent 20.1% K-BB% out of the bullpen, having multi-inning versatility as well since he originally came up as a starting pitcher. His fastball can reach 96-97 MPH when he’s going right, boasting a strong changeup with a breaking ball that has shown some potential. If the Yankees can unlock that third pitch for Hernandez, he could be an interesting upper-level MiLB option for the organization.
He was assigned to Double-A Somerset per the team’s transaction page, and we’re seeing a flurry of MiLB signings across the league as teams are letting go of players and figuring out the landscape of their 40-man roster. Tomorrow teams will have to set their 40-man rosters ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, and the Yankees have some interesting candidates they’ll consider protecting headlined by Caleb Durbin who has become one of their more talked-about prospects this month.