Yankees cut raking slugger in latest trimming roster
TAMPA – Andres Chaparro doesn’t get love in the Yankees prospect rankings. The mighty Venezuelan corner infielder has never been in the MLB Pipeline or Baseball America top 30, though he did have impressive 2022 performance numbers.
Chaparro is on Aaron Boone’s radar. The Yankees manager caught his eye when Chaparro hit 20 homers in 71 games last season, including 19 in 64 games with Double-A Somerset, and he saw it up close this spring.
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A 6-1, 200-pounder who looks taller, Chaparro struck in his first career start in the Grapefruit League on Feb. 26 against the Blue Jays, then came off the bench last Thursday to come along for a blowout win over the Pirates to underline a very long , grand slam in the ninth inning.
“He’s earned his way here and that’s because he can swing the bat,” Boone said. “It doesn’t surprise me to see him get into a (grand slam) like that.”
Halfway through spring training, the Yankees have begun cutting the roster, and it continued after Monday night’s 9-2 win over the Pirates, with Chaparro – who plays at first and third base – being among the last four cuts .
Chaparro and fellow off-list Jesus Bastidas were moved to minor-league camp, while pitcher Yoendrys Gomez and outfielder Everson Pereira, high-ranking contenders with 40-man roster spots, were opted for Double-A Somerset.
Pereira is ranked the Yankees’ fifth-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, while Gomez is ranked 12th.
During his stint with the Yankees that spring, Chaparro connected with two homers for the teams league and finished third with six RBI. In eight games, he hit .250 with four hits in 16 at-bats.
“Chaparro can really score,” Boone said.
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The cuts reduced the Yankees’ roster to 58 players — 32 pitchers and 26 position players.
Here’s the Yankees lineup:
YANKEE LIST
START pitchers (12): RHP Johnny Brito; RHP Gerrit Cole; LHP Nestor Cortes; RHP Deivi Garcia; RHP Domingo German; z-RHP Luis Gil; RHP Jonathan Loaisiga; z-RHP Frankie Montas; LHP Carlos Rodon; RHP Clarke Schmidt; RHP Luis Severino; Randy Vasquez.
TOOLS (20) RHP Albert Abreu; x-RHP Matt Bowman; RHP Jimmy Cordero; RHP Tyler Danish; z-RHP Scott Efross; x – Demarcus Evans; x-RHP Ian Hamilton; RHP Clay Holmes; RHP Tommy Kahnle; RHP Michael King; LHP Matt Krook; RHP Ron Marinaccio; x-RHP James Norwood; LHP Wandy Peralta; x-LHP Nick Ramirez; RHP x-LHP Lisandro Santos; RHP Lou Trivino; x-LHP Gerber Tully; x-RHP Ryan Weber; RHP Greg Weissert.
CATCHER (5): x – Rodolfo Duran; x – Carlos Narvaez; Kyle Higashioka; Ben Rortvedt; Jose Trevino
INFIELDERS (9): x – Wilmer Difo; Josh Donaldson; Isiah Kiner-Falefa; DJ LeMahieu; Oswald Peraza; Anthony Rizzo; Gleyber Torres; x—Anthony Volpe; x Jamie Westbrook.
OUTFIELDERS (12): Harrison Bader; x – Jake Bauers; Oswaldo Cabrera; x- Willie Calhoun; x-Jasson Dominguez; Estevan flowers; Aaron Hicks; Aaron Richter; x-Michael Hermosillo; x – Billy McKinney; x-Rafael Ortega; Gian Carlo Stanton
x non-roster players
z-will start the season on the injured list.
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Randy Miller can be reached at [email protected].