Yankees: Minor Leaguers ‘Shocked’ by Recent Release

Adam Weinrib

Steinbrenner Field in 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

New York Yankees minor leaguers were shocked by the news of their release this week.

Though they were well aware of the current environment, Yankees minor leaguers were sure it wasn’t going to happen to them.

After all, they’d gone this long remaining employed by the richest franchise in sports, with their entire season still very much in doubt. Why would the organization’s behavior deviate now?

Unfortunately, the delay in action meant very little — 45 minor leaguers (some of whom would’ve been released at the end of Spring Training, if it had found its ending) were released this week, and they felt blindsided.

Yankees minor leaguers who were released had been crossing their fingers it wouldn’t happen, especially after reports of teams like the small-market Royals and Twins keeping all theirs. When the calls came, it was a “shock” https://t.co/wileeV5LFk
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) June 4, 2020

“…it sort of was a little bit unexpected, especially at the time, considering everything was going smooth, it felt like,” outfielder Alex Junior told NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty.

“All of a sudden, we got cut. It was a shock,” infielder David Metzgar echoed to the Yankees’ scribe.

Clearly, on some level, minor-league players have felt vulnerable from minute one, only safe at the end of camp because there had been a freeze installed on all transactions. But as they observed the Royals and Twins vow to keep all of their prospects paid and employed through the end of what might be a nonexistent season, that surely quelled their pessimism a bit.

After all, the small-market Royals with an entirely new ownership group had found a way to take care of their prospects. If any team had a built-in excuse to part ways with talent, it was KC, helmed by a man relatively unfamiliar with the ins and outs of this game, operating on a shoestring budget.

Alas, the Yankees fell victim last week to the same mentality that’s become far more pervasive in today’s game than the giving and nurturing mood in Kansas City has.

Yankees prospects who’ve remained with the organization will continue to earn a $400 stipend through the end of June. No word yet on what happens after that — this year’s five-round draft class and a series of undrafted free agents will be arriving next week, complicating things once more.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.