Yankees: 3 stealth rookies who could debut with NYY by end of 2021

2. Yoendrys Gomez

We can’t stress this enough: keep your eye on any and every 40-man pitcher for the rest of spring training.

Well in the weeds behind Nick Nelson and Jonathan Loaisiga, and even Addison Russ and Lucas Luetge, lies Yoendrys Gomez, an intriguing arm who some of us were surprised to see survive this offseason’s roster shuffle.

Someone off the back side of the 40-man had to great traded, we assumed, and it turned out to be the slightly more polished Miguel Yajure, jettisoned in the Jameson Taillon deal.

That leaves Gomez to continue operating in semi-obscurity as he makes his way up the minor-league ladder, a journey that could end before 2021 closes.

Gomez got Yankees Universe buzzing with an extremely clean inning of his own, whiffing one and setting down the side in order during what was otherwise a complete disaster in Clearwater against the Phillies last week. Adding him to the big league roster this season would be quite ambitious, but the 2020 season was the mother of ambition, and will lead many MLB clubs to push their youngsters further than expected this year.

Now 21, Gomez looked electric in the first opportunity he was given, and turned some heads. Watch his usage in the coming weeks, and monitor whether he gets the heart of the order in the fourth or fifth at any point as Opening Day nears.