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admin | December 20, 2023 | New York Yankees | No Comments

Yankees News: New York adds prospect to 40-man roster, hitting coach, Brian Cashman

The Yankees have plenty more protecting to do, but this is a start.

Well, this offseason certainly crashed through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man, didn’t it? Except for, instead of providing drips of red sugar water and loose bricks, it brought managerial change.

But none for the Yankees! Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman will both speak (separately) on Tuesday at the GM Meetings, and even though Aaron Boone won’t be talking, that apparently isn’t an indictment on his job security. He’s still “their guy,” words that seem to mean more to the Yankees than certain other franchises.

The Yankees got their offseason started last week not with a front office shuffle or change in the dugout, but by jettisoning six players, all of whom factored in the 2023 debacle in one way or another. Domingo Germán, Jimmy Cordero, Matt Bowman, Billy McKinney, Franchy Cordero and (the injured) Ryan Weber were all outrighted, and all elected free agency instead of a minor-league assignment on Monday. They were quickly replaced by — so far — just one prospect on the 40-man roster.

Yankees 40-Man Roster: Welcome Carlos Narvaez!
This will not be the Yankees’ final prospect added for protection purposes.

The team has until Nov. 14 to protect additional names from the Rule 5 Draft, and will clear further 40-man spots by non-tendering several candidates before Nov. 17, from Kyle Higashioka to Jonathan Loaisiga.

Other intriguing prospects who need protecting include Narvaez’s fellow catcher Agustin Ramirez, who sports Gary Sánchez-esque exit velocities, as well as Andrés Chaparro (who wasn’t protected last year), Jared Serna, Mitch Spence and Edgar Barclay. Clayton Beeter should be a shoo-in.

Narvaez starred after being given the opportunity to contribute last spring training, then hit 12 homers with a .767 OPS this past season, mostly at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

For those counting, that’s five catchers on the 40-man, with a sixth in Ramirez likely following soon. That … will not last.

Yankees News: Dillon Lawson’s shocking new job, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Matt Carpenter

The first New York Yankees coach that’s been dismssed in the middle of a season under Brian Cashman’s 25-year front office tenure has found a new job. In the AL East. With the Yankees’ biggest rival.

According to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic (subscription required), former Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson has taken a job with the Boston Red Sox and will serve as the organization’s hitting coordinator in the upper levels of the minor leagues.

Lawson, after being an instrumental figure in helping revamp the Yankees’ farm system, got elevated to the big-league level in 2022, but was out of a job come July of 2023. He wasn’t even the hitting coach for two years and the Yankees felt implored to make a move.

It’s possible he was a scapegoat because of how bad the offense was without Aaron Judge, but reports suggested there were massive communication issues between the coaching staff and players (and front office). Lawson’s approach also clearly hit a wall beginning in the secoHe undoubtedly had an unorthodox approach by prioritizing exit velocity and hard contact, but something else wasn’t right. His introduction to the team was bizarre and uninformative. His session with the media after a loss to the Red Sox in 2023 was downright baffling. In many ways, this move had to be made even if Lawson wasn’t the primary figure to blame.nd half of 2022 up until his dismissal. It was more than likely a combination of factors that led to the relationship ending.