Following up on yesterday’s post, the Yankees officially welcomed Reegie Corona back from the Mariners today. After hitting .281-.311-.386 in 57 at-bats this spring, Corona was assigned to Double-A Trenton, where he played last year. All of the players the Yanks lost in the Rule 5 Draft this year have been accounted for, as Corona, Zack Kroenke and Ivan Nova returned to the Yanks while Jason Jones will remain with the Twins after a trade.
Corona placed on waivers
Chad Jennings is reporting that the Mariners have placed infielder Reegie Corona on waivers, which is the first step towards returning him to the Yanks after Rule 5’ing him during the Winter Meetings in December. Corona’s chances of sticking with team were pretty much shot down when the M’s acquired Chris Burke over the weekend. The two teams have had some trade talks that would allow the M’s to keep Corona, but so far they’ve balked at the Yanks asking price of an unknown A-ball pitcher.
Jennings also noted that Chris Garcia is going to start the year on the … wait for it … disabled list. I am shocked by this development.
Hughes strong in minor league start
After having his scheduled start on Monday pushed back for reasons unknown, Phil Hughes took the mound against the Pirates’ Triple-A squad yesterday afternoon. He allowed one run on five hits and a walk in five and a third innings, striking out seven. He struck out the side in the first inning on ten pitches, but the fact that he needed that extra pitch cements his status as a bust. Hughes said he expects to get up to 100 pitches in his next start, which will be his last one of the preseason before heading to Triple-A Scranton. “Cutter and changeup is something I really want to get going,” Hughes said. “That will be a big pitch for me, both of those. I don’t think they’re ever going to be go-pitches for me, just something to compliment my fastball and curveball.”
Elsewhere, Alan Horne continued his return from shoulder surgery with two innings in an intrasquad game yesterday. He’s scheduled to throw three innings on Monday.
The Brackman Watch
Man, it feels like just yesterday we wrapped up the TJ Rehab Watch, and now I’m here introducing you to this year’s Watch already. As the title says, this year we’re going to track the progress of Andrew Brackman, the Yanks’ 2007 first round pick who will finally be unleashed on minor league hitters this season after missing all of last year due to Tommy John surgery. It’s been a long time coming, and hopefully it’ll be worth the wait.
Most of you know what this is all about, but for those of you who latched onto RAB for the first this time offseason, here’s a quick primer: During the season we’ll keep track of two sets of stats for Brackman – his pitching line from his most recent start, and his overall season line. You’ll be able to find this info on the far right sidebar, right below the Countdown Clock for the time being. That’s it, simple enough.
So what’s the point of the Watch? To revel in Brackman’s awesomeness. No seriously. It’s there to show off his performance and make sure everyone knows how he’s pitching. Of course there’s always the chance that he might suck, but that’s the risk. So far our previous Watchees (Phil Hughes in ’06, Joba in ’07, the TJ Rehab quartet in ’08) haven’t disappointed.
Usually I have to debate between three or four worthy candidates all winter before settling on my Watch subject, but this year it was a piece of cake. It’s not often a pitching prospect of Brackman’s caliber comes along, and when one does he’s worth paying attention too. As exciting as Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero are, position players just don’t have that wow factor. Zach McAllister and Dellin Betances? They’ll have their day. Mark Melancon won’t be in the minors all year, and the thought of switching to a new Watch mid-season makes me feel dirty, so he didn’t make the cut either.
The minor league season doesn’t start until the middle of next week, but I figured it as about time to get this thing up on the site, especially since some other sites are trying to bite our style. I keed, I keed. Enjoy.
Photo Credit: Sports Card Forum
Alan Horne returns to the mound
Via Chad Jennings, Alan Horne throw a 25-pitch simulate inning today, his first significant action since having a partial torn labrum surgically repaired last year. The Yanks’ number five prospect in 2008 was scheduled to throw in a minor league game, but Mother Nature didn’t cooperate and he instead got his work in with a bullpen session. Afterwards Horne said he felt good and was more consistent with his curveball than he had been in previous sessions. He’s scheduled to pitch two innings in a minor league game on Wednesday.
Padres place Nova on waivers
Via Ken Rosenthal, the Padres have placed righty Ivan Nova on outright waivers (as well as lefty Justin Hampson) after he posted an 8.31 ERA and 3-4 K/BB ratio in 8.2 IP this spring. Nova was selected from the Yanks in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft, so he would have had to stuck on the Pads’ 25-man roster all season for them to keep him. If no other team claims Nova, he’ll be offered back to the Yanks for half of the $50,000 R5D fee. I think it’s safe to say Nova will be coming back. I mean if the Padres couldn’t find room for him on their staff, no team will. (h/t pat for the email)
Elsewhere in Rule 5 news, Brian Cashman wouldn’t comment on the rumor that Jason Jones was placed on waivers by the Twins, cleared, and has been offered back to the Yanks. Jones had a 2.70 ERA in 10 IP this spring, and as you probably remember he had some unkind words for the organization last month. The Yankees have more arms than spots available in Triple-A and Double-A, so I suspect they’ll just thank the Twinkies for the $50k and let them keep Mr. Jones.
Update (1:24pm): The Yanks acquired righty reliever Charles Nolte from the Twins for the right to keep Jones today. Nolte had a 2.05 ERA and a 75-35 K/BB ratio in 70.1 IP with Low-A Beloit last year. He was the Twins 24th round pick in 2007. (h/t Marc)
2009 MLB Draft Reports
Just a heads up, MLB.com has started posting scouting reports (with some video) for the top prospects of the 2009 Draft. Right now there’s about thirty reports, but they’re constantly being updated and come draft time there will be over a hundred available. It’s a great way to kill time at work learn about these guys. Also, make sure you check out ESPN’s MLB Draft Blog (unfortunately it’s behind the Insider wall). KLaw and Jason Churchill are updating the thing daily with scouting reports (with video!), performance updates, tons of stuff. Make sure you add it to your RSS reader, because the damn thing is impossible to find on ESPN’s site.
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