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Feb. 14th Spring Training Notes: Betances, Chapman, Sanchez

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Today was the first official workout day down in Tampa. Bullpen sessions, batting practice, the usual. Here’s video of Gary Sanchez taking some hacks. Randy Miller says the players also had their annual media training orientation this morning. Riveting stuff. Anyway, here are today’s notes from camp:

  • Every pitcher and catcher has reported except one: Dellin Betances. Yesterday his wife gave birth to their first child, Dellin Jr., and Betances is home with his family. Congrats to them. Aaron Boone said Dellin will join the team in a few days. I look forward to the Yankees making Dellin Jr. their first round pick in 2037. [Coley Harvey]
  • Aroldis Chapman’s knee is in “good condition,” Boone said. “Yes, it’s good,” Chapman added. Doesn’t sound like there will be any restrictions on Chapman this spring, though, as a veteran reliever, his workload will be light anyway. Chapman has averaged six innings the last three springs and only twice did he pitch on the road. [Coley Harvey, Brendan Kuty]
  • Gary Sanchez is doing well post-shoulder surgery and is targeting the second week of Grapefruit League play to return to game action. “To be honest, guys, I already forgot about last year. I can’t use (the shoulder) as an excuse,” he said. [Meredith Marakovits, Coley Harvey, Erik Boland]
  • Today’s notable bullpen sessions: Luis Severino, Luis Cessa, Jonathan Holder, Chance Adams, and Stephen Tarpley. Sanchez caught Severino (and Adams), so he’s getting his catching work in with the big leaguers while doing all his shoulder rehab work. [Brendan Kuty]
  • And finally, welcome back Pat Roessler. He’s rejoined the Yankees in a player development role. Roessler was with the Yankees in a similar capacity from 2005-14 before leaving to join the Mets. He was let go as their hitting coach over the winter. [Kristie Ackert]

More of the same is on the schedule tomorrow. Bullpens, batting practice, pitchers fielding practice, so on and so forth. Live batting practice and simulated games are still a few days away. Position players will report Monday and the first Grapefruit League game is one week from Saturday.

Feinsand: Gary Denbo to replace Mark Newman, Pat Roessler out as player development director

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Denbo. (NY Post)
Denbo. (NY Post)

According to Mark Feinsand, the Yankees have tabbed Gary Denbo to replace Mark Newman as vice president of baseball operations. Newman, who has run the team’s farm system for more than a decade, is retiring. Denbo has been part of the interview process as the Yankees look for a new hitting coach, which was an indication he was moving into a more prominent front office role. The team has not yet made any kind of official announcement.

Denbo, 53, has worked three stints with the Yankees since 1990. He has served as a minor league hitting coach and manager (1990-96), minor league hitting coordinator (1997-2000, 2006-07), assistant minor league director (2000), hitting coach for the MLB club (2001), and scouting and player development consultant (2009-14). Denbo was also a hitting coach for the Nippon Ham Fighters (2003-05) and Blue Jays (2008). He played four years in the minors (1983-86) as an outfielder with the Reds but never made it above Double-A.

Feinsand also reports Pat Roessler is out as the team’s director of player development, a position he had held since 2005. There is no word on his replacement just yet, but the Yankees are reportedly considering former Expos and Mets GM Omar Minaya for a front office position, and he could be a fit there. When we first learned Newman was retiring a few weeks ago, it was reported Roessler and some other player development folks could be in danger as well.

The brain trust and especially Hal Steinbrenner have not been pleased with the team’s unproductive farm system these last few years, specifically their inability to produce position players. They evaluated their player development system late last year but only made procedural changes. This time around they changed some personnel. (Newman’s contract expires this month and I get the sense the Yankees weren’t going to bring him back anyway.) Hopefully the new voices lead to a more productive farm system.

Update: VP of Baseball Ops Mark Newman will retire after the season, other changes possible

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Newman.
Newman.

The Yankees will likely have a new voice running the farm system next year. Vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman is believed to be retiring after the season, reports George King. The team has not made an official announcement and both Newman and Brian Cashman declined to comment on the matter, so this isn’t final just yet.

Newman has been with the Yankees since 1988 and has been running the farm system for the last 15 years. He came under some scrutiny last season when Hal Steinbrenner was unhappy with the team’s player development system. King says there is some belief the Yankees would decline to renew Newman’s contract after the season even if he doesn’t decide to retire. Sounds like he’s a goner either way.

The Yankees tend to promote from within, so it’s no surprise that King says special assistant Trey Hillman is expected to replace Newman. Hillman, who managed the Royals from 2008-10, rejoined the Yankees this past offseason. He managed in the team’s farm system from 1990-2001 and has also spent time managing in Japan. Hillman spent this season working with minor leaguers, I believe.

In addition to Newman, the Yankees are also likely to cut ties with director of player development Pat Roessler after the season, according to King. He has been in that role for quite a while now. King says former Yankees hitting coach Gary Denbo will likely replace Roessler. Denbo has been with the team as a scouting and player development consultant since 2009.

The Yankees only made what they called “procedural” changes late last year after reviewing their farm system, and many fans (myself included) weren’t thrilled about that. Procedural changes are boring because we can’t actually see them at work. Replacing Newman and Roessler would be substantial changes to the player development system though. I have no idea how qualified Hillman and Denbo are for those positions, but they will bring new voices, and hopefully that leads to some production from the system. The Yankees definitely need it.

Update: Newman has already informed Hal Steinbrenner that he intends to retire, according to Mark Feinsand. Steinbrenner plans to conduct a “total evaluation” of the player development system that could result in a “complete overhaul” after the season. Feinsand says Denbo, Roessler, amateur scouting director Damon Oppenheimer, and player development staffer Jody Reed could all be replaced. Furthermore, Feinsand hears any replacements are expected to come from outside the organization “as the Yankee brass believes that new ideas and a new direction are needed.”