Yankees make first round of spring cuts; more to come

Following Thursday afternoon’s 7-6 loss to the Phillies, two of the Yankees top prospects received the news that they’d been re-assigned back to the minor leagues.

I do not doubt that pitchers Justus Sheffield and Dillon Tate will both be back on the hill for the Yankees big league team sometime shortly.

As for the four other players sent back to their respective minor league camps, catcher Chace Numata, left-hander Trevor Lane, and right-handed pitchers Cale Coshow and Raynel Espinal, only time will tell.

Sheffield, the Yanks’ No. 3 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline was roughed up on Thursday, allowing three runs in 1.2 innings pitched.

At times this spring, Sheffield looked every bit the part of the organizations top pitching prospect. The 21-year-old lefty entered Thursday’s contest out of the bullpen for the third time this Grapefruit League season and swiftly worked a 1-2-3 frame.

However, his second inning was when disaster struck. After back-to-back doubles followed back a sacrifice fly, manager Aaron Boone was forced to bring in Wade LeBlanc, who was greeted with an RBI double of his own, which was added to Sheff’s line.

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If you missed Sheffield’s brief outings this spring and are going purely by stats alone, they won’t prove much merit — four strikeouts, three walks, seven hits and seven runs in 5.1 innings pitched for an 11.81 ERA.

However, Sheffield was never going to make the 25-man roster. This spring was all about adding to his experience and the rigors of pitching to a higher level of competition.

As Sheffield told Randy Miller of NJ.com:

"“It sucks, but this spring has been a good learning experience for me,” Sheffield said. “I got in early in the games, so I got to face mostly all big-league hitters. I’ve definitely seen some positives and I definitely see some things that I need to continue to work on.“I’m going to walk out of here with a positive attitude and continue to go out there and prove that I can be a pitcher in the Bronx soon.”"

Sheffield, who won’t turn 22 until May, is only now entering his fifth-year of professional baseball. Set to begin the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Sheffield will look to refine his electric skills before being put to the test in the Bronx, possibly by this September.

The other noteworthy name sent packing is No. 11 prospect, Dillon Tate. In two appearances this spring, the right-hander allowed two runs for a 2.25 ERA over four innings while striking three.

Having finished the 2017 season at Double-A Trenton only tossed 25 innings following his promotion from High-A Tampa it’s likely the 23-year-old Tate begins ’18 back with the Thunder.

However, with’s his ability to pitch in the rotation or out of the ‘pen, a quick bump to Scranton could be in the cards should Tate continue his maturation process.

As Spring Training enters the halfway mark before Opening Day, the Yankees will be forced to make even more moves to thin the herd.

Next: Billy McKinney is the real deal

For me, I’m most interested to see which names are re-assigned and or released from the raging infield battle. I have a sneaking suspicion Jace Peterson, Danny Espinosa and maybe even Ronald Torreyes will soon be on their way out of Tampa.