Aaron Judge, Jacob Lindgren In First Round of New York Yankees Cuts

The New York Yankees made their first round of cuts on Sunday, sending 17 players to the minor league camp. Most notably cut were Aaron Judge and Jacob Lindgren, both who could make it to the big leagues later this season.

Judge wasn’t going to make the team out of spring training with Carlos Beltran still in right field. Lindgren is going down simply because he wasn’t good this spring.

In a little over two innings, Lindgren had a 15.43 ERA, allowed four earned runs and four walks, with just one strike out. Not impressive numbers for someone looking to earn a bullpen spot. He was actually optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room on the 40-man roster.

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He pitched decently in the seven games he appeared in for the Yankees last year. In seven innings, Lindgren allowed four runs, but did strike out eight batters. Unfortunately he had arm surgery last June, which ended his season prematurely. His command was bad and a trip back down to the minors will help fix that.

Without Justin Wilson and Adam Warren in the bullpen, the Yankees need to find someone to rely on. Lindgren was thought to have a shot, but it looks like they’re going to turn elsewhere. Bridging the gap from the starters to the end of the bullpen will be one off the Yankees toughest tasks this season.

Judge was sent down to season more in the minor leagues, but could be brought up later this season, especially if an outfielder is out for an extensive period. He is one of the top prospects in all of baseball.

The Yankees also sent down Jorge Mateo, who is only 20 years old. He impressed at camp, with multiple extra base hits, but doesn’t have a spot on the team just yet. Another strong minor league season could lead to a September call-up or even a bench spot for the playoffs, if the Yankees get that far.

Starting pitcher James Kaprielian was also sent down in his first big league camp. Like Mateo and Judge, Kaprielian didn’t have a spot on the team, but could work his way up with an impressive year and as an injury replacement.

The rest of the cuts came as no surprise. Four catchers, four position players and five pitchers were also sent down.

Pitchers: Brady Lail, Tyler Webb, Chad Green, Domingo German, Kyle Haynes

Outfielders: Lane Adams, Dustin Fowler

Infielders: Tyler Wade, Deibinson Romero

Catchers: Sebastian Valle, Francisco Diaz, Kyle Higashioka, Santiago Nessy

The team will make more cuts in the upcoming weeks as they look to get the roster down to 25 by Opening Day.