Feb. 18th Spring Training Notes: Andujar, Stanton, Loaisiga, Betances, Britton

Position players reported to Spring Training today and Aaron Boone told Coley Harvey everyone has now reported to camp. New father Dellin Betances arrived today, as did righty reliever Raynel Espinal, who had a visa issue. Also, Boone said everyone’s physical came back okay. No surprise injuries to begin Spring Training. Here are the day’s notes from Tampa:

Here’s a good explanation of what Miguel Andujar is/has been working on defensively. Pretty interesting stuff. He’s added a little hop to his pre-pitch setup and is throwing more overhand on routine players. Here’s some video of Andujar fielding grounders today.
Giancarlo Stanton held a quick little start-of-spring press conference and said the biggest difference between playing for the Yankees and playing for the Marlins is “playing in games that mattered past May 7th.” Ouch. Stanton also said he’s feels fortunate to have signed his contract when he did given the current free agent climate. I mean, duh. [Bryan Hoch, James Wagner]
Jonathan Loaisiga hired a trainer this winter and focused on strengthening his shoulder. “We followed the program (the Yankees gave us). I worked to improve the little muscles around the shoulder. That’s one thing that has bothered me throughout my career,” he said. [Randy Miller]
Betances said he has had contract extension talks with the Yankees but declined to give details. “My priority is my baby boy and helping this team win,” he said. Betances will become a free agent after the season. [Pete Caldera, Jack Curry]
Turns out Zack Britton was not available for Game Three of the ALDS last year. He had a calf issue that was serious enough to require an MRI. Apparently the Yankees never announced anything because they didn’t want to hurt Britton’s impending free agency. [Andy Martino]
James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, Chad Green, and Tommy Kahnle were all on the schedule to throw live batting practice today. So was Danny Farquhar. [Lindsey Adler]
And finally, in case you were hoping the Yankees would pick him up for the final bench spot, Derek Dietrich signed a minor league deal with the Reds today. So that’s that. [Ken Rosenthal]

Now that position players are in camp, the Yankees will hold full squad workouts the next four days before opening their Grapefruit League schedule this coming Saturday. The Yankees haven’t announced their starting pitchers for the first few spring games yet. Should happen in a day or two. Here’s the spring television broadcast info.