The Yankees Release Former Top Prospect Slade Heathcott

In a surprise move, the Yankees announced that they had granted outfielder and former top prospect Slade Heathcott his unconditional release Thursday. The transaction was designed to free up a 40-man roster spot for lefty Richard Bleier, who was called up earlier in the day, but the decision to cut ties with a player who had been ranked as the 18th best prospect in the system by Baseball America as recently as last season to add a journeyman reliever is an odd one. The former first round pick cracked BA’s top ten Yankees prospects list five times since his selection in the 2009 amateur draft, and even cracked the top 100 in baseball prior to 2013.

On the other hand, it’s easy to see why New York has grown frustrated with Heathcott’s inability to stay on the field. In his eight year minor league career, Heathcott has only one season where he has cracked the 100 games played mark. A variety of nagging injuries have cost him crucial development time and sapped his once unparalleled physical tools. At 25, he is on the cusp of losing his prospect status for good and crossing over into Triple-A lifer territory. He is currently on the MiLB DL with a knee injury and has batted a miserable .218/.260/.287 (50 wRC+) when healthy.

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Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees blog reports that the team has no plans to resign Heathcott, so this isn’t just a roster reshuffle. His time in pinstripes is likely over, but there will certainly be teams willing to give a player with his ceiling another shot. Heathcott was electric in his major league debut just last year, hitting .400/.429/.720 in 30 PAs before the inevitable injury came. It’s always sad to see a long-time farm hand depart, but given New York’s outfield depth in the upper minors, this is probably a move that will work out for both sides.

He’ll always have one of the most exciting moments of the 2015 season to look back on: