Yankees to Begin Promoting Prospects Wednesday

The dust is still settling from the Yankees’ historical August sell-off. The next phase of the plan- giving major league exposure to the organization’s youth- will begin Wednesday in earnest.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman prepared for weeks in advance, fielded countless calls on his players and endured the heavy lifting that is the trade season. The exhausting conclusion unearthed a new era in the Bronx; the Yankees are no longer annual contenders, but their future is among the brightest in baseball.

Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Carlos Beltran and Ivan Nova are former Yankees with different cities to call home. On the flip side, it took the Yankees four trades to overhaul their system with premier talent, with Clint Frazier (No. 1), Gleyber Torres (No. 2), Justus Sheffield (No. 7), Dillon Tate (No. 11) and Billy McKinney (No. 16) headlining the youth movement.

The Yankees are now tied with the Houston Astros for the most prospects (7) on MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospect Watch list.

Cashman, rightfully so, has received high praise throughout the industry for his recent work. The general manager was in Queens, New York to discuss the Yankees’ deadline during ESPN’s Monday coverage of the Subway Series. He revealed the next phase of the rebuild, which revolves around clearing a pathway to the majors for on-the-cusp prospects.

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It seems catcher Gary Sanchez, who’s hitting .285 with an .813 OPS and 10 homers at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, will be the first to receive a phone call. Cashman said Sanchez is someone who “could join the club early as Wednesday,” when the series moves to Yankee Stadium and National League procedures aren’t a roster hindrance.

The repercussions this will have for current catcher Brian McCann and backup Austin Romine are undetermined. Both could be waiver-wire trade candidates (the Braves discussed a McCann deal with the Yankees).

The early consensus foretells McCann sharing the bulk of DH at-bats with Alex Rodriguez while Sanchez, under McCann’s mentoring and Tony Pena’s coaching, adjusts to catching in the majors. Romine has been serviceable as a second-string, but could wind up collateral damage with no minor league options remaining.

Of course, the Yankees could go another route and cut bait with Rodriguez, or instead market his pursuit for 700 home runs. Owner Hal Steinbrenner isn’t ecstatically rushing to eat the $21M owed to Rodriguez in ’17 in addition to this year’s remaining payout.

Cashman also anointed Judge and Tyler Austin as worthy call-up candidates who will see action soon. Judge is scheduled to return from the minor league disabled list Tuesday, and will replace Beltran in right field after a productive tune-up. The 6’8″ outfielder, listed as the club’s No. 4 prospect, mashed .261/.357/.469 with 16 homers before a knee injury sidelined him for three weeks.

Meanwhile, Austin has had a career revival in the minors this year. Since being promoted to Triple-A, he’s mashed 13 long balls in 48 games to go alongside an impressive .316 batting average. Combined with his Double-A stats, Austin is one home run and seven RBIs away from breaking personal records in a season (17 HRs, 80 RBIs in ’12). He’s hit his way back on the radar, but is blocked by Mark Teixeira at first base.

Next: Yankees Are Winners of the 2016 Trade Season

Hal and Cashman are handling their first rebuild surprisingly well. They’ve maximized their assets and are prepared to let their highly-touted youngsters don the pinstripes, but still need to make room for them at the major league level. In other words: Sayonara A-Rod and Teixeira.

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