The Yankees have been hit hard by injuries both in the lineup and the rotation this spring, creating new needs on top of the existing lack of a clear option at one of third base or second base. (Jazz Chisholm Jr. can play either spot.) Concern over both of Giancarlo Stanton’s elbows and a calf strain for DJ LeMahieu have subtracted a pair of veteran bats from the lineup.
That’s likely paved the way for Dominic Smith, who’s enjoying a productive spring, to potentially make the club despite entering camp as a non-roster invitee. Erik Boland of Newsday reports that Smith’s chances are indeed improving, but the Yankees are still scouring the market for a right-handed bat to add to the mix. SNY’s Andy Martino also wrote this week that the Yankees are in the market for a righty bat.
One potential candidate to fill that need, outfielder Everson Pereira, was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre yesterday. Pereira went 7-for-20 with a pair of homers during Grapefruit League play, perhaps making the decision to option him amid multiple injuries a bit surprising.
Pereira, 23, is coming off a solid .265/.346/.512 performance in 182 Triple-A plate appearances last season. The former top prospect missed the final two-thirds of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery, however. While his spring output was generally encouraging, Pereira did fan in seven of his 25 plate appearances (28%). That’s not a big enough sample to worry about in isolation, but for a player who punched out at a 32.4% rate prior to that elbow injury in Triple-A last year (and in nearly 29% of his plate appearances the year prior), it’s not ideal. Injuries could always push Pereira back into the big league equation early in the season, and he seems likely to get some major league looks this year at some point, but for now the Yankees will get him regular at-bats in minor league camp and plan for him to open the season with Scranton.
At this point, the free agent market is largely picked over. Veterans Whit Merrifield, Adam Duvall and switch-hitting Robbie Grossman are all unsigned but are all coming off poor years at the plate. (Grossman did at least hit well from the right side of the dish.) The Yankees have had some contact with J.D. Martinez, but he’s a tough fit unless the injury to Stanton proves long-term; both are DH-only players.
As we enter the latter stages of spring training, the market figures to change, however. Veterans who are non-roster invitees with other clubs will be released or opt out of their current deals to seek new opportunities. Others will make their teams’ respective rosters, forcing those clubs to clear space by way of small trades or DFAs. Either could produce some right-handed bench depth for the Yankees if the team wants to avoid further spending with budget near its limit. Then again, Gerrit Cole’s 2025 salary is partially covered by insurance. That won’t reduce the Yankees’ luxury tax number, but they’ll get some money from that policy which could be redirected to a low-cost bat to round out the roster if an opportunity to their liking presents itself.