The New York Yankees have announced that they claimed infielder Marco Luciano from the Baltimore Orioles, a right-handed hitting infielder who went from top-100 prospect to a non-factor over the last few seasons.
He hit 23 home runs for the Giants’ Triple-A team in 125 games last season while slashing .214/.335/.413 with a 30.6% strikeout rate as he struggles to make contact consistently.
What Luciano does bring to the table is the ability to play shortstop and make loud contact from the right-handed side, and at 24 years old there is some potential an organization might be able to unlock.
Since he was claimed off of waivers, he will be on the Yankees’ 40-man roster but could be waived if the team chooses to free up a roster spot at any point in time.
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Marco Luciano Joins the Yankees After a Waiver Claim
At one point the San Francisco Giants looked at Marco Luciano as the kind of player who could anchor the shortstop position for years to come.
He was called up during the 2023 season and showed some prowess defensively, but his 37.8% K% in 14 games as a 21-year-old exposed some serious holes in his game.
A 27-game sample size didn’t calm any doubt in 2024 as he struck out over 34% of the time with a 59 wRC+, as across 41 games he has a 68 wRC+ and .286 OBP.
This fills the Yankees’ 40-man roster spot, and with Cody Bellinger’s signing not official just yet it is possible that they’re going to just cut him once that deal is announced by the team.
The ability to play shortstop cannot be understated on a team that lacks a standout starter at the shortstop position given Anthony Volpe’s struggles, but Marco Luciano is unlikely to steal someone’s job in 2026.
Maybe the Yankees unlock everything that scouts fell in love with when he was coming up as a teenage prospect in the Giants’ organization, but this move profiles more like a claim that gets forgetten after he’s waived.
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