On Wednesday, the New York Yankees announced a reorganization of their minor-league system’s upper levels. Presumably, it was not a performance choice.
Jose Rojas, the slugging former Angels first baseman who sank to KBO before the Yankees gave his revived bat a chance, teamed up with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders before opting out on June 1. Not ironically, he did not play in a game after May 31, concluding his Yankees career with 10 home runs, 34 RBI, and a.900 OPS despite appearing in 43 games.
Nonetheless, without a clear word on Rojas’ decision, it appeared possible that he would remain with the company beyond that line in the sand. After all, as unlikely as a big-league shot seems for a non-40-man first baseman, it’s tough to deny that the position is the MLB roster’s most trouble spot as Anthony Rizzo ages. The Yankees have previously sent non-40-man options directly to the majors, albeit reluctantly (sorry, Estevan Florial).
With Wednesday’s minor-league wire report, that fantasy came to an abrupt end. Rojas was released on waivers, which most likely constituted a handshake agreement between the two parties to allow him to seek work elsewhere.
Yankees release Jose Rojas from his Triple-A contract (he probably opted out).
You may recall Rojas from the dog days of January, when we were attempting to draw blood through a series of stone transactions, throwing darts at potential impact players. He was coming off 19 home runs in 122 games with the Doosan Bears, regaining some of the pre-COVID form he had found with the 2019 Salt Lake Bees in the Angels system.
Remember Jorge Vazquez, the big first baseman/DH who ripped up the Yankees’ system in the early 2010s and continued to do so when he reached Triple-A, but was never given a chance to overcome the “Quad-A” allegations? Rojas exuded that attitude right away, and nothing changed when he performed well but not particularly well before his opt-out deadline.
The Yankees will now assign the majority of their Triple-A playing time to TJ Rumfield, an exit velocity darling who is hitting.285 with a.747 OPS in 179 at-bats this season. It is worth noting, however, that in addition to releasing Rojas, the Yankees sought a trading partner for Luis Torrens this week.
Hmm. A catcher and a first baseman, neither of whom has a good chance of making the Yankees’ big league team, are leaving practically simultaneously. Could the Yankees be making room for first baseman/catcher Ben Rice at Triple-A, just after he caught Gerrit Cole’s rehab start? Simply connecting the dots here.
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