Reaction To Slade Heathcott Being Non-Tendered
By Ricky Keeler
During late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, the New York Yankees announced their decision on which players they would non-tender in terms of contracts for next season. There weren’t many shockers as New York chose to non-tender pitchers David Huff and Jose Campos as well as outfielder Slade Heathcott.
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You have to think the Yankees made the right decision regarding Heathcott because the 24-year-old has not been able to stay on the field of late. This past season, he had a second knee surgery, causing him to play in only 13 games for the Double-A Trenton Thunder. Nevertheless, New York has had him on the 40-man roster for the talent and potential that he has.
According to Baseball America, he was a top 65 prospect in baseball in 2013. In 107 games that season for the Thunder, Heathcott hit .261 with eight home runs (third on the team) and 49 RBI’s. The former first round pick back in 2009 out of Texarkana High School in Texas had 22 doubles that year, which was fourth on the team behind Kyle Roller, Ramon Flores, and Jose Pirela. He was also second on the team in stolen bases with 15, three behind Pirela.
Heading into that AA season, Heathcott had an impressive 2012 season down in the Florida State League for the Tampa Yankees. He hit .307 in 60 games with five homers, 27 RBI’s and 16 doubles. As far as his fielding goes, he had seven errors in 2013 playing center field.
The question now remains what happens next in the future of Heathcott. Now, even with the non-tender, does that mean that he is done in terms of being a Yankee necessarily. In an article done by J.J Cooper of Baseball America, Cooper talks about how a player can be cleared off the 40-man, but they can come back:
"“It’s one time that teams can clear a player off the 40-man roster without having to designate the player for assignment. Players non tendered do not hit the waiver wire, they become free agents immediately.” (h/t Cooper)"
If this move were to happen and Heathcott would sign back as a minor-league free agent and reset the player’s options. Now, this could be of benefit to him considering he has been with New York since 2009. That being said, you also could look at the possibility of him getting an opportunity with another club and a chance at a new start.
If I had to take a guess, you would think Heathcott would stay with the Yankees’ organization, if given the opportunity. Even though another team could offer them a better deal, it might be unlikely in Heathcott’s case due to his injury history that he gets a great deal from another team.
We saw a couple of weeks ago that New York protected Mason Williams from the Rule V draft largely due to his upside. The question will be with Heathcott now off the 40-man, do the Yankees bring him back as a minor-league free agent to see if the potential ends up coming into fruition down the road.