Following the exciting debut of Juan Soto in the Yankees’ Spring Training home opener, they would host the Minnesota Twins for another contest at George M. Steinbrenner Field. With Nestor Cortes on the bump, they were hoping to see some signs of life after he ended last season on the injured list with a shoulder injury. Juan Soto would find himself once again in right field and hitting second, and we’d see the debut of Giancarlo Stanton as well.
In another win for the Bronx Bombers, it was another encouraging day on both sides of the ball as veterans and youngsters put on impressive showings in this 9-2 win over the Twins.
Pitching Looks Sharp As Yankees’ Bats Cruise to Victory
Nestor Cortes didn’t have the best line, allowing seven hits and two runs in 2.2 innings, but those who watched and saw his pitches knew that today was a huge positive for him. The shape and velocity on both his fastball and cutter were sharp and he was brilliant through his first two innings before slowing down in the third. While he’ll have to prove himself in the regular season, the southpaw took a positive first step towards doing that this afternoon. How he feels tomorrow will determine if today was a success or not, but things look good for Nestor right now.
After Cortes departed from the game, the Yankees would get a flawless performance from their bullpen, with two of their standouts being Cody Poteet and Cody Morris. Poteet tossed 1.2 innings with three strikeouts, not allowing a single run and walking in his Spring debut. He flashed a four-seamer, sinker, changeup, and slider, and looked like he had a strong feel for all of his pitches in the outing. Morris has three strikeouts and no runs allowed as well and looked equally as impressive as his fellow Cody.
Oddainer Mosqueda made his Yankees’ debut today as well, he was signed in Minor League free agency over the winter, and the southpaw got three strikeouts and allowed just two baserunners. He’s an interesting name to watch with a lower arm slot and he’ll add even more left-handed depth to the team’s bullpen. The Yankees collected 12 strikeouts to just four walks, an excellent ratio they’ll hope to continue, but the bats stepped up as well.
Juan Soto delivered the first two runs of the day, ripping an RBI double that just missed out on being a three-run blast, which would have been his second in two days. The left-hander looks excellent at the plate early on and is immediately showing a glimpse as to what fans will watch all season. Jace Avina, who was also acquired this winter, would take over in right field and show off some impressive power at the plate. He swatted two doubles, the first of which nearly left the yard, and drove in a runner from second.
Elijah Dunham also impressed, adding two hits and two RBI after taking over for Alex Verdugo during the game in left field. The Yankees also got an excellent game out of Ben Rortvedt, who collected two well-struck hits and also threw a runner out at second, seeming in sync with Nestor Cortes as well. His future with the team is bleak due to Austin Wells and Jose Trevino, but he’s playing to land a job somewhere and could be either traded or claimed off of waivers before Opening Day.
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Jorbit Vivas belted his second home run in Spring Training, collecting three RBI and starting to impress people in the organization. He wasn’t just a throw-in when the Yankees dealt Trey Sweeney to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a two-player package headlined by Victor Gonzalez, he was a player the team was eager to acquire. This could be one of the better additions that Brian Cashman made this winter if the bat can stick in Triple-A, as he’s on their 40-man roster and could get looks at second base and third base if the team needs an infielder during the season.
His left-handed swing is perfect for the Bronx, and his high-arching blast was the kind that plays at Yankee Stadium and nowhere else. Vivas will be watched heavily in Spring Training and the organization believes this could be a big season for the 23-year-old infielder.