Brutal Oswald Peraza error further muddies Marcus Stroman's line in Yankees debut

Marcus Stroman's first four batters of his spring Yankees debut featured four efficient outs, all of them representing members of the Phillies' starting lineup. He breezed through Trea Turner, Bryson Stott, Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber, striking out the burly Phillies cleanup hitter for his first whiff in the uniform.

Then, because this was a spring debut, he lost steam against the Phillies' mishmosh of backups batting 5-through-9 after taking care of the franchise's faces. Minimal harm, no foul, but ... of course that's how it went down.

Ultimately, the first K was his preeminent highlight; the righty sat in the high-80s/low-90s and returned for the third inning after being removed during a second inning rally. Spring training is the best.

Marcus Stroman's Yankees debut featured questionable Oswald Peraza defense

Ultimately, Stroman allowed a pair of earned runs, victimized by the likes of Cristian Pache and Weston Wilson. Twice, relievers were called upon to help clean up his base runners.

Twice, those relievers did a solid enough job. Once, the defense let him down, tacking an unearned run onto his ledger.

Oswald Peraza, on a sky-high, sun-blown popup, was the culprit in the second inning, clanging a ball off his mitt.

It's just one moment. It's just one mistake. Anybody can do exactly what Peraza just did. But ... of course it was him.

Of course it was the former top-100 prospect who seems to be falling down the Yankees' depth chart. Of course it was the player who seemingly could change the team's rotation trade options, if only the Miami Marlins cared about him whatsoever. Of course it was the guy who's found himself in an unfortunate corner of the spotlight this spring, unable to make anyone comfortable enough to move on from Gleyber Torres next offseason.

For some players, spring training could not matter less. Aaron Judge needs to get his steps in. Jonathan Loaisiga just needs to stay healthy. Anything else is eyewash for the crowds who traveled to Florida. For others? Spring training is everything. Carlos Rodón needs to prove plenty in these otherwise meaningless contests; he got off to a nice enough start on Sunday.

Count Peraza among that group. After Sunday's first few frames in Clearwater, he's the unfortunate focus, despite Stroman struggling to work himself into form, too.