According to Joel Sherman, the Yankees have re-signed Slade Heathcott to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. The team non-tendered Heathcott back in November, allowing him to come off the 40-man roster without passing through waivers. They did the same with Jose Campos, who also re-signed.
Heathcott, 24, played only nine games last season due to a pair of knee surgeries — his season started late following offseason surgery and ended early due to another procedure in June. The invitation to big league Spring Training is an indication Heathcott either is healthy now or expected to be ready to play by time camp opens.
In parts of six minor league seasons since being the 29th overall pick in the 2009 draft — the compensation pick the Yankees received for failing to sign Gerrit Cole in 2008 — Heathcott has hit .268/.346/.404 in only 309 career games. He’s had lots of shoulder and knee problems, including multiples surgery on each.
Assuming he’s healthy to start the regular season, Heathcott could head to Triple-A Scranton after playing 112 games with Double-A Trenton from 2013-14. A return to the Thunder is always possible, as is starting down in High-A Tampa to shake off the rust. We’ll have to see how the upper level outfields shake out. Lots of candidates.
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