Last Friday we reported 9 Yankees minor leaguers elected free agency, on Sunday we reported 2 more and today we update that with 4 more players. Minor leaguers Eddy Rodriguez, Jose Rosario, Cesar Vargas, and Wilking Rodriguez will each have new addresses for the upcoming season and are currently classified as minor league free agents.
Rodriguez, 29, spent the 2015 season in the Yankees organization as a backup catcher to top prospect Gary Sanchez at Double-A and Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Across both levels, Rodriguez batted to a .170/.202/.261 slash line in 57 games. A Cuban native, Rodriguez had previously been drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 20th round in 2006 and spent two games in the major leagues with the San Diego Padres in 2012, where he hit his career home run off future World Series champion Johnny Cueto.
Rosario, 24, experienced seven seasons in the Yankees minor league system after signing with the club as a sixteen year old out of the Dominican Republic in 2008. Rosario advanced as far as Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre in his professional career, collecting 17 home runs in nearly 1,500 at bats, while playing second base, shortstop, and the outfield.
Vargas, 23, was a right-handed pitcher signed out of Mexico in 2009. Pitching primary out of the bullpen in the minor leagues, Vargas collected a 3.12 earned run average in 173 appearances. Vargas spent the 2011 and 2013 seasons pitching in the starting rotation for Dominican Summer League Yankees and Class-A Charleston, before returning to the bullpen with High-A Tampa in 2014.
Wilking Rodriguez, 25, who missed the majority of the majority of the 2015 season due to an 80 game suspension for the performance enhancing drug “Furosemide”. Returning to the active roster on July 7th, Rodriguez appeared in seven outings for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, compiling a 1.69 ERA with 13 strikeouts. Prior to joining the Yankees, Rodriguez was a member of the Kansas City Royals organization and collected two scoreless inning in 2014 during his lone stint in the major leagues.
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