Andres Chavez
The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon in another Grapefruit League game, 3-1, at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. Cam Schlittler tossed 3.2 scoreless innings with a walk and a strikeout in his latest tune-up for the regular season.
After the Yankees cut Oswaldo Cabrera, Max Schuemann, Seth Brown, and Paul DeJong on Saturday, their bench is pretty much set: catcher JC Escarra, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, utilityman Amed Rosario, and outfielder Randal Grichuk.
Now, the attention shifts to the bullpen. After Saturday’s game, the Yankees made a move that eliminates another pitcher in contention for a roster spot.
“Following today’s game, the Yankees reassigned RHP Yovanny Cruz to minor league camp,” the team announced via X. Cruz, who joined the organization as a minor league free agent in November, impressed in camp with his triple-digit fastball.
On Saturday, he tossed a clean inning in relief, allowing a single hit and striking out one. He threw 13 pitches, and 10 of them were strikes, a notable development considering his control issues as a prospect.
A Long Track Record Of Control Issues
Just last year, in the Boston Red Sox’s Double-A squad, Cruz walked 6.67 hitters per nine innings in 59.2 frames. Despite his 3.03 ERA and the 10.92 strikeouts per nine, that’s a lot of walks.
Ever since the 2023 campaign, Cruz’s walk rate has never been below 10 percent, often flirting with 12 percent and surpassing 17 percent last year in the Red Sox’s Double-A affiliate.
The Yankees said he was actually in contention for a spot in the bullpen, but having thrown just three innings, they decided to play it safe and have him start in the minors. He has significant potential, though.
Those three innings were mightily impressive. He struck out five and, perhaps more importantly, didn’t walk anyone. With his triple-digit average velocity, any control gains would make him a candidate to contribute to the Yankees’ bullpen at any point of the 2026 campaign. It’s just not his time yet.
Three Men Fighting For Two Spots
The decision to send him to minor league camp means that three pitchers are virtually fighting over two bullpen spots: Brent Headrick, Osvaldo Bido, and Jake Bird. At this point, David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Tim Hill, Fernando Cruz, Ryan Yarbrough, Paul Blackburn, and Cade Winquest have secured their spots.
Barring a surprise, Headrick and Bird will get the remaining spots, but Bido shouldn’t be counted out just yet. The next 48 hours or so will bring with them more roster-related decisions, so pay close attention to upcoming developments.
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