Yankees News: The Yankees Still Haven’t Finalized Non-Roster Invites

With Spring Training now officially less than a month away, the New York Yankees have yet to finalize their non-roster invites.  The 40-man roster is currently one spot short, and Nick Noonan, Cole Figueroa, Robert Hernandez, and Slade Heathcott, have signed minor league deals with spring training invites.  Heathcott and Noonan are the only two of these four who still have some prospect abilities, with neither seeming to have a long future with the Yankees.  Heathcott is an outfielder who is blocked off within the organization. With Jacoby Ellsbury, and Brett Gardner both signing long deals before last season, and Aaron Judge expected to be the future right fielder, there is not room for Heathcott.  Noonan also seems to be blocked at second base by the fan favorite, prospect Rob Refsnyder.  We can expect to see Judge and Refsnyder in Spring Training, as well as Greg Bird, top prospect Luis Severino.  I expect to also see Taylor Dugas, Jacob Lindgren, and potentially Ian Clarkin get a look as well.  With the Yankees farm system finally improving, I think it would be wise to give these young guys a look and properly develop them to reach their full potential. 

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Prior to the most recent Yankees dynasty of the late 1990s and early 2000s, they allowed their farm system to develop, and it paid off with four titles (five if you count the 2009 title with the Core Four).  With the organization becoming reluctant to spend big money on long term contracts, the farm system must develop in order for the team to remain competitive, not just in 2015, but beyond as well.  Judge, and Bird both possess star potential, as does Severino.

With the minor league pieces finally in place, it is imperative that the Yankees allow these players to compete against major league talent in Spring Training.  If Severino is able to dominate the big leagues in the same fashion that he has in his brief minor league career, then the Yankees could have a potentially scarey big three atop their rotation for years to come, with Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda already looking destined for stardom, assuming they stay healthy.  The lack of proper development, combined with constantly splurging on free agents and trading prospects away, led to a depleted Yankees system.  Now that the talent is there, the Yankees must develop it properly if they want these young prospects to become big league stars, something they have not been able to do in recent years.

Next: Five Yankees Who Need A Good Spring

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