4 surprise players who could steal a roster spot with 2023 Yankees

Rafael Ortega, OF

We'll keep banging this drum until it actually comes to fruition (or doesn't, at which point we'll be waiting for Ortega to make some Triple-A noise before getting loud again).

The Yankees need a left fielder. They need a productive left fielder. They need a left-handed bat with some pop built for the short porch. Ortega was all of these things in 2021, when he burst onto the scene as a 30-year-old with the Cubs and posted a 121 OPS+ and .823 OPS, launching 11 blasts from the left side of the plate.

His 2022 follow-up didn't go quite as well, but even in a down year, Ortega was still good for a 95 OPS+ and 90th-percentile walk rate/82nd percentile whiff percentage. Hicks? His OPS+ was just 86 last year, and Ortega can nearly match Hicks' primary strength. The incumbent's walk rate is in the 95th percentile, but his whiffs fall in the 41st.

Sometimes, it's about more than on-field performance, too. The Yankees could use a narrative adjustment in left field after Hicks essentially opted out of chasing a fair ball last September and earned himself a temporary benching for all home games. Add in the wrist injury that might've forever altered his batted-ball profile and sapped his strength (we have very little evidence to the contrary), and Ortega could be a welcome breath of fresh air ... as long as he opens eyes in spring training action.

Matt Krook, LHP

Stolen from the Rays and stashed on the back portion of the Yankees' 40-man roster, Matt Krook is the latest project who could potentially fill an Opening Day role in the Luetge/Bañuelos mold if the Yanks are blown away by his contributions.

If not? More time at Triple-A is hardly a punishment for Krook, whose 40-man spot means he's a baked-in favorite to be this summer's Scranton Shuttle guy, considering he hasn't used a single big-league option yet.

The 28-year-old went 10-7 with a pedestrian 4.09 ERA last season at Triple-A, but most notably struck out a large number of batters, whiffing 155 in 138.2 innings. In 2021, his first year in the organization, things went even better; Krook split time at Double-A and Triple-A, whiffing 132 in 106 innings pitched, posting a 2.89 ERA.

No matter who you believe it'll be, the one thing Yankees reporters seem to agree on is that a mystery name like Luetge will sneak up on everyone in the bullpen competition. There will naturally be attrition. Someone will get dinged up. The riser could be Greg Weissert and his frisbee slider after he flashed plus stuff last fall. NJ.com's Randy Miller thinks it'll be ex-Seattle farmhand Nick Ramirez and his left-handed slider.

Our bet's on Krook and his sweeping breaker, considering he's already got the 40-man spot.

Jimmy Cordero, RHP

Of course, the Yankees' final reliever could also be former White Sox Jimmy Cordero, who the Yankees have been babysitting since Chicago released him after the 2021 season.

Cordero rehabbed on the Yankees' dime last year, undergoing Tommy John surgery early in '21 with the Sox. He made it back to the Triple-A level last summer, whiffing 50 in just 38.2 innings, walking 13 and posting a 2.09 ERA. Instead of letting him test the market as a minor-league free agent this winter, the Yankees used a roster spot on him and left top prospects like Andres Chaparro floating in the wind.

Luckily, Chaparro wasn't swiped in the Rule 5, Cordero's safe in the Bronx, and the Yankees will get a good chance to check out the reliever they've long coveted during those all-important middle innings, either right after or before Brito pitches.

Cordero is known primarily for his blazing fastball, which sits in the upper 90s and has reportedly hit 104 during his days as a Phillies prospect in the mid-2010s. At the big-league level, it hasn't limited contact as much as it probably should have, though.

In other words? Move over, already-released Junior Fernandez! Matt Blake, meet your next Clay Holmes-style project! If not on Opening Day, you'll probably meet him soon after.