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Yankees News: 14 Minor Leaguers Released

By Michael Cambria |

As the calendar turned to the first day of Spring, and as snow continued to fall in the Bronx, the New York Yankees decided to do a little spring cleaning of their minor league system.

According to baseballamerica.com, on Sunday the Yankees released a total of 14 minor leaguers while optioning seven others to different minor league affiliates. Among the released were RHP Cristofer Cabrera, RHP Dayton Dawe, RHP Alex Polanco, RHP David Rodriguez, RHP Hayden Sharp, LHP Hector Martinez, LHP Abel Mora, 1B Mat Gamel, 1B R.J. Johnson, 1B Bubba Jones, 2B Jake Anderson, 2B Casey Stevenson, OF Anderson Feliz and OF Daniel Lopez.

RHP Danny Burawa, RHP Branden Pinder, LHP Jose De Paula and OF Tyler Austin were optioned to Tripe-A Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre. Prized catching prospect Gary Sanchez and OF Mason Williams were optioned to Double-A Trenton while RHP Domingo German was optioned High Class-A.

The most surprising release in my opinion is 26 year-old 2B prospect Casey Stevenson. Yes, the Yankees are currently log-jammed with 2B prospects between Stevenson, Jose Pirela and Rob Refsnyder, but with one of the two (Pirela/Refsnyder) projected to take over as the every-day Yankees second baseman no later than the start of the 2016 season, it opens up the possibility of one of them being traded, and the Yankees in need of a solid 2B back-up option in the minors, like Casey Stevenson.

Through five minor league seasons, Stevenson has averaged a pretty impressive slash line of .246/.321/.360. He also has some pretty decent pop for a second baseman, plating a total of 136 RBIs and 21 homers during his minor league stint with the New York Yankees. On the defensive side of the ball, Stevenson has recorded an impressive .961 fielding percentage over 283 games played.

Non the less, major roster cleanses like this happen annually, especially with younger talent being pooled into the minor leagues every June after the draft and the emergence of prospects out of the Dominican Summer League. Usually the guys who are released are fairly easy for teams to replace, but should the Yankees elect to deal one of their major-league ready second basemen, they might have a hard time replacing a player like Casey Stevenson.

What do you think Yankees fans? Let us know in the comments below.

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