Zelous Wheeler Leaves the Yankees

Thursday was a big day in baseball as the Yankees’ and everyone else had to declare their 40-man rosters. This brought even more changes to the New York Yankees 2015 roster. Tyler Austin and Danny Burawa surprised some people and remained protected by the Yankees. Others weren’t so fortunate.

Last season’s super-utility bench player, Zelous Wheeler, is headed to Japan. Brendan Kuty of nj.com is reporting that the Yankees have sold Wheeler’s contract to the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league. It officially ends Wheeler’s one-year stint in the Bronx and could spell the end of his major league career.

Wheeler, the right-handed hitting infielder and outfielder, was drafted in the 19th-round of the 2007 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. The 27-year-old has been a journeyman minor leaguer over the eight years since. The Yankees signed him away from the Orioles in 2013 to compete for a utility role in the Bronx.

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It didn’t happen until July 3rd when Wheeler finally made his long-awaited big league debut. He instantly became part of Yankees lore as he homered in his first big league at bat. That would be the highlight of his rookie season as he finished with a .193 batting average, two home runs and five RBI in 57 at-bats over 29 games.

Wheeler and fellow Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRider Zoilo Almonte were thought to be the two most major league ready bats in the minors in 2014. Neither impressed and both have left town. This opens the door for Jose Pirela or Rob Refsnyder (or in a dream world, both) to make the Yankees big league squad in 2015.