As the members of the 2018 MLB Draft class sign and get assigned to their teams to start their professional careers, the Yankees have made several more cuts to open roster spots. Five minor leaguers were released, including outfielders Cody Brown, Luis Martinez, and Cesar Diaz; as well as infielder Jose Carrera and left-handed pitcher Jeff Degano.
Degano, 25, was the Yankees second round pick in 2015 and after a promising debut, he struggled with command, walking 34 batters in just 6 2/3 innings in 2016 and 2017. Overall, he owned a 0-4 record with a 10.61 ERA in 22 games, 10 starts, with 36 strikeouts and 43 total walks in 28 innings of work across three seasons. In 2015 he walked just nine batters in 21 1/3 innings, but a velocity jump and failure to throw strikes caused him to struggle.
Trenton Thunder’s Cesar Diaz is congratulated after scoring against the Harrisburg Senators in Trenton on Friday, May 4, 2018. (Martin Griff)
Diaz, 25, was an international free agent the Yankees signed in 2013 and has played as high as Triple-A. With the Yankees, he played in 222 games with a career .271/.377/.374 slash line in 720 at-bats. He had 33 doubles, 10 triples, and seven home runs in his five-year minor league career. In 2018 he has played for the Tampa Tarpons, Trenton Thunder, and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, hitting .308/.373/.423 in 15 games and 52 at-bats across all three levels.
Luis Martinez (Bryan Green)
Martinez, 19, was signed as an international free agent in 2015 and has not played above Rookie-ball. In 79 games between the DSL Yankees and the two GCL Teams, he has a career .207/.294/.348 slash line with 12 doubles, six triples, and four home runs.
Cody Brown had three hits for the Trenton Thunder in a minor league spring training game at the Yankees Player Development and scouting complex on March 18, 2018. (Robert M. Pimpsner/Pinstriped Prospects)
Brown, 24, was a non-drafted free agent the Yankees signed in 2017. He made his professional debut with the Staten Island Yankees in 2017 where he hit .186/.279/.309 in 37 games. In 2018, he has played in four games with the Pulaski Yankees where he hit .385/.529/.615 with a home run and four RBIs.
Jose Carrera (Bryan Green)
Carrera, 23, was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2017 and hit .276/.396/.366 in 41 games for the GCL Yankees East in his first professional season. He played in just three games in 2018 and had not had a hit in five at-bats.
You must be logged in to post a comment.