The Yankees are designating outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment just five days after claiming him off waivers from the Rockies, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. The team hasn’t announced the move or a corresponding transaction, but they still need to open a roster spot to make their reported re-signing of first baseman Paul Goldschmidt official, and this DFA would accomplish that.
Fernandez turned 23 on New Year’s Day but has already exhausted two of his three minor league option years. He made his major league debut with the Rockies this past season but hit just .225/.265/.348 with a 30% strikeout rate in 147 trips to the batter’s box. Fernandez has struggled in parts of two Triple-A seasons as well, hitting a combined .259/.320/.437 through 409 plate appearances despite very hitter-friendly environments.
In the 2023-24 offseason, Fernandez landed on the back end of top-100 lists at Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus. At the time, he was coming off a .265/.313/.486 showing with 25 home runs in 521 plate appearances across three levels, topping out as a 20-year-old in Double-A. Given that power output and his youth relative to the competition he was facing at the time, Fernandez was seen as a potential power-over-hit corner outfielder with a plus-plus throwing arm. A future as an everyday right fielder seemed attainable, but his aggressive approach and lack of plate discipline have hindered the final stages of his offensive development.
The Yankees will surely hope to pass Fernandez through waivers and retain him as depth. The majority of MLB clearly already passed on claiming Fernandez once, given that the Yankees are 27th in offseason waiver priority (which is based on the reverse order of the prior season’s standings). However, with pitchers and catchers now beginning to report to camp and the 60-day IL becoming available to other clubs, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if another club used some of that newfound roster flexibility to place a claim and take what’d basically be a free spring training look at the former top prospect. The Yankees can place Fernandez on waivers or trade him at any point in the next five days.
