Despite the New York Yankees playing things conservatively leading up to spring training, general manager Brian Cashman and his scouting department are hard at work finding promising minor-league talent that could make an impact at the major league level down the stretch.
Their latest addition is right-handed pitcher Gray Fenter, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. At 27 years old, Fenter is coming off an inconsistent year with the San Francisco Giants and their AA affiliate. He hosted a 5.13 ERA, 5.87 xFIP, 11.16 strikeouts per nine, and a 69.4% left-on-base rate. Fenter also spent 77.1 innings with the Baltimore Orioles’ AA squad back in 2021, logging s 5.47 ERA, but showed far more efficiency with their single-A team back in 2019. He hosted a 1.81 ERA across 94.1 innings, so clearly, he has some value but struggles to make the transition to the next level of competition.
- Yankees could turn to familiar face in reunion with relief arm
- Yankees cross $301 million tax threshold, indicating a potential salary dump trade
- Yankees overhauled one critical element in the outfield
What does Gray Fenter offer the New York Yankees?
Based on the fact that Fenter is 27 years old, he’s quickly running out of time to make a legitimate impact at the major league level, but the Yankees see something they can build upon.
While he did struggle in AA, Fenter did appear for the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2022, enjoying nine games, hosting a 2.95 ERA over 21.1 innings. He gave up 18 hits and six homers with 32 strikeouts in the Atlantic League.
Fenter is certainly intriguing, but based on his inability to produce consistent results throughout the Orioles and Giants farm systems, it is safe to say he likely won’t be an impact pitcher in the future, but the Yankees may see something they can tweak to help improve his game and potentially utilize him as a trade piece down the road.