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3 Yankees non-roster spring training invitees who will make MLB by end of 2024

HINT: Two of them share the same name.

By Adam Weinrib |
Cincinnati Reds v Philadelphia Phillies
Cincinnati Reds v Philadelphia Phillies / Rich Schultz/GettyImages
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The Yankees' 40-man roster is so full -- HOW FULL IS IT?! -- that when Pitchers and Catchers reported, some of the catchers had to report on Zoom.

It's safe to say that, minus a few dings and alterations and Blake Snell's asking price dropping by $100 million, the Yankees' 40-man is set for both spring training and Opening Day. Any injury replacements are probably already in the building ... but that doesn't mean this year's non-roster invitees don't have some noise to make.

After all, a thunderous spring is how Jasson Dominguez was able to open eyes last year and prove his production was finally matching his pedigree. His powerhouse camp paved the way for his promotion in late summer, which went ... pretty well (elbow not withstanding).

This spring, several key offensive prospects will get a chance to impress, as well as a few arms who the team has given every indication will get serious looks as contributors in 2024. The Yankees have a full five-man rotation of established talent in place at the moment, but plenty of rookies are penciled into important depth roles behind them. They feel more than comfortable with that setup, even if you, the fan, do not.

With apologies to Yerry De Los Santos (we've made our opinion of him extremely clear), these three unheralded non-roster invitees have the best chance of selling themselves during a longer-than-expected spring training.

3 Yankees spring training invitees who could open eyes and enter roster conversation

Caleb Durbin

The Yankees are giving their diminutive second baseman/spark plug a chance to shine at camp, in what'll hopefully be a glorious preview of what Roc Riggio will be able to offer them next spring.

Durbin more than earned the showcase. He showed out in the Arizona Fall League, capturing a Player of the Week award while in the spotlight amongst the game's brightest prospects. If he was up for that challenge, he will probably do a pretty good job outhustling also-rans and agitating aging middle relievers (who are still working their way into shape).

Spring training games are all interesting for a week or so -- baseball's back! -- before receding into drudgery. Durbin won't let that happen. He's likely to seize every opportunity he gets to make his jersey dirty, fresh off posting an .822 OPS and stealing 36 bags across two levels last summer, peaking at Double-A.

His frame doesn't seem capable of producing both speed and power, but so far, he's defied the odds at every stop. Why wouldn't he do so again this spring? Plus, the man he was traded for, Lucas Luetge, will in Boston's camp with the dreaded Red Sox. There's no better time for Durbin to rub it all in.

Art Warren

The Yankees sneakily stashed Warren, a former Reds flamethrower, last year while he underwent and rehabbed from Tommy John surgery. You know, much like the Red Sox did with James Paxton and Michael Fulmer, with the sole difference being those pitchers were famous, while Warren's talent flew under the radar.

The 30-year-old right-hander (31 by Opening Day) posted a sterling debut in Cincinnati in 2021, striking out 34 men in 21 innings pitched with a 1.29 ERA/1.84 FIP. Things went sideways in '22, but the strikeout numbers didn't dip much (40 in 36 innings, with just 37 hits allowed). Warren's control and command both deserted him, but there's a good chance some of that was related to the injury he was couching and eventually succumbed to. Good pitchers with sturdy frames and 77th percentile heaters don't forget how to pitch year-over-year. WHIPs don't rise from 0.905 to 1.639 without a little chicanery. We know exactly what was eventually revealed to have been wrong with Warren. It's fair to assume the balky elbow affected him sooner than he let on publicly.

Now, the Yankees will give him a showcase opportunity at camp, with several Scranton Shuttle seats still open in this year's bullpen. Apologies to Ron Marinaccio, but none of the incumbents really have a clearer path to contributing than wild cards like Warren do. The Yankees have saved him in a glass case for this opportunity. Let's see if he can break the pane with his advanced fastball.

Will Warren

Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake has made it as plain as day that righty Will Warren will get an extended look this spring in the race for the No. 6 starter/bullpen hybrid role at the big-league level, and we should probably believe him.

While Chase Hampton slightly outranks him in most prospect assessments and Luis Gil has more name recognition because of his big-league cameo, it seems likely that Warren is the most MLB-ready of the potential inning-erasers, and could be poised to walk in Michael King's/Jhony Brito's footsteps. If we're being honest with ourselves -- and I always hope that we are! -- he makes far more sense in that multi-inning bullpen role than Jonathan Loaisiga, and could be a full-fledged member of the rotation by the end of the season/in years to come, depending on how much the team believes in Clarke Schmidt's future.

Hampton might be "mini Cole," but Warren seems likely to be the Next Wesneski who wows at camp with a bender that makes fans wonder how any hitter could square it up. Just bring in Corey Kluber in a mentorship role, and the team could really be in business.

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