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Watch Yankees signee Roderick Arias crush home runs in BP

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Yanks Go Yard

BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 24: A New York Yankees baseball hat sits on the field during batting practice before a game between the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 24, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Congratulations to teenage international signee Roderick Arias for joining the Yankees‘ seemingly endless parade of reasons not to sign Carlos Correa in free agency! Half-kidding.

Arias, a supremely talented 17-year-old, inked a long-rumored $4 million deal with New York at the end of January. The signing was years in the making, as Arias’ projection had him pegged for the Yankees in every assessment, but still, having a signature on a dotted line felt good. 

By all accounts, Brian Cashman added an infield version of Jasson Dominguez here, with plus power from both sides of the plate. A five-tool, switch-hitting shortstop (with a chance to stick at the position!) doesn’t come around very often, and it appears the Bombers took advantage of one of the very last International Draft-less years to secure a major commitment that could alter their infield landscape for years to come.

However, considering they don’t intend to trade Oswald Peraza, Gleyber Torres or Anthony Volpe, they could also be crafting a future logjam. But that’s Tomorrow Brian Cashman’s problem. Today Brian Cashman is basking in riches.

Like we’ve said during the Correa non-chase, though, talent is talent. When you get a chance to sign it or acquire it, you should probably do so and ask questions later — even if that talent is somewhat shrouded in the unknown, like with Arias, who we’ve never really seen.

Until now! The phenom posted some batting practice footage on his Instagram this week, reminding you all that he’s one of very few core Yankees who’s currently allowed to be active, by law.

Yankees top prospect Roderick Arias takes BP, smashes dingers

Beefy. Yet, somehow also still a plus-defender? Interesting.

It might be a while still before we see Arias participate in organized baseball stateside. Dominguez signed as a mythical figure back in 2019, but didn’t make his full-season debut until well into the 2021 season (partially pandemic-related, of course, but still).

In case you’d like a longer look at Arias’ progression, here’s what the slugging shortstop looked like from both sides of the plate last summer (when he was just 16 and still ticketed for the Bronx, informally).

So … is he the Yankees’ shortstop of the future? Is it Volpe? Peraza? Oswaldo Cabrera? Trevor Story? We’ll just have to wait several years to find out for sure.

For now, let these sounds of BP soothe you while MLB and the MLBPA stare each other down, and know this dude’s a Yankee, too.

Adam Weinrib

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.