Yankees News & Notes: Post-Super Bowl Edition

Not much is going on in Yankee Land, however, now that the Super Bowl has concluded, it’s time to set our sights on pitchers and catchers reporting. There’s nothing quite like watching well compensated people playing baseball in vacation spots, while we are still suffering the cold and snow. While that might be true, I still look forward to it every single year, because my favorite sport returns AND warmer weather is right around the corner. With that, let’s look at the only Yankee-related news for today.According to Baseball America’s, Matt Eddy, the Yankees have signed some minor league fillers for the upcoming season. Among those signed include RHP Chris Smith, LHP Josh Romanski, and SS Leugim Barroso. Of those three, Romanski is the only player who was with the organization last year.

The southpaw pitcher appeared in 13 games spread across two leagues (A and AA), and started three contests. He went 3-2 with a 4.00 ERA, and struck out 28 batters in 36 inning pitched. Not exactly world-beater stuff.

As for Smith, he played for Washington in the Frontier League (Independent), and pitched to a 9-6 record in 19 starts. In 129.1 IP, he struck out 116 hitters, and walked 52 batters good for a 2.23 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Not too shabby, but again, he’s signed for depth not for his potential.

Lastly, the 26-year-old shortstop, Barroso, hit .317/.345/.364 in 413 plate appearance spread across two different leagues. His better numbers come from his time with the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings of the North America League where he hit .321/.351/.369 in 388 PAs.

That about wraps it up for the Yankees news today, look for Matt Hunter’s article later today detailing ZiPS projections for the club. Enjoy your Monday!