NEW YORK — The New York Yankees spent the winter and spring talking about a crowded, uncertain outfield. As they returned home to open a weekend series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the front office kept quietly adding to it.
Aaron Judge is back in right field after an elbow injury. Jasson Dominguez, Spencer Jones, and the rest of the group are still sorting out the corners. Yet the moves that may matter most this week happened far from the Bronx, on college campuses, and involved players no team drafted.
The 2026 MLB Draft ran 20 rounds and more than 600 picks. When it ended, the Yankees went shopping in what was left behind. In a matter of days, they agreed to terms with two college outfielders who heard their names called by no one, betting that raw production can grow into something the roster needs.
The approach is not new for a club that leans hard on player development. What stands out is the timing, the volume, and one familiar pipeline that keeps feeding talent to the same organization.
Second undrafted outfielder in days
The latest addition is Maika Niu, a center fielder from Arkansas. Niu agreed to a free-agent deal with the Yankees on Wednesday, according to reports out of Fayetteville. He went unselected across all 20 rounds of the draft, then landed in the Bronx system within days.
Niu is listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds. He spent this past season with the Razorbacks after transferring from Marshall. At Arkansas he appeared in 61 games and started 56, all of them in center field. He hit .274 with 10 home runs, 14 doubles, and 51 RBI, and he stole 19 bases in 21 tries.
His path was unusual. Niu began his career at New Orleans, spent one year at Marshall as a shortstop, then moved to the outfield full time with the Razorbacks. In his final college season he earned a place on the NCAA Lawrence Regional All-Tournament team as an outfielder.
A summer that changed his stock
The story traces back to last summer, when Niu turned the Cape Cod League into a showcase. Playing for the Falmouth Commodores, he won the Pat Sorenti Award as the league’s most valuable player. He was the first Arkansas player to claim the honor since the award was first handed out in 1964.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn had pushed Niu toward center field the moment he arrived. Van Horn framed the switch as the player’s own call, one that fit both the roster and Niu’s ambitions.
“Outfield is what he wants to do,” Van Horn said. “That’s what he told me when I talked with him face-to-face. I told him, ‘That’s what you’re going to do.'”
Van Horn also believed a full season in the Southeastern Conference would sharpen Niu for pro ball, even if the draft did not go his way. He pointed to the value of high-level at-bats.
“Maika just wants to prove that he can play in the SEC and that he deserves to be a good draft pick next year,” Van Horn said. “We’re excited to have him. He can play anywhere in the outfield.”
A pipeline the Yankees keep tapping
Niu is the only Arkansas player to sign an undrafted free-agent contract since this year’s draft. He is also the second Razorback in as many offseasons to reach the Yankees that way. Right fielder Logan Maxwell took the same route a year ago, signing after exhausting his eligibility in Fayetteville.
Niu was not even the first undrafted outfielder the Yankees added this week. Days earlier, the club agreed to terms with Jorsixt Jimenez, a right fielder from Tennessee Tech. Jimenez, 23, hit .401 with a .483 on-base mark and 20 home runs across 52 games as a senior, numbers that ranked among the best in the country.
Jimenez, listed at 6-foot and 205 pounds, is from Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. He played two seasons at Division II Queens College in New York before his breakout in Tennessee. Baseball America graded his approach as aggressive, noting he chases often, but flagged his bat-to-ball skill and power as reasons to keep watching.
His college coach cast the signing as the payoff for years of work. Tennessee Tech’s Matt Bragga praised Jimenez as one of the best players the program has produced.
“JJ has earned this opportunity,” Bragga said. “He has had the dream of playing professional baseball for a long time, and because of his relentless work ethic and determination, that dream has become a reality! He is truly one of the greatest players in the history of this amazing program. I can’t wait to watch his future unfold!”
What it means for the roster
Neither player projects as an immediate answer in the Bronx. Both will start in the minors and try to climb. Even so, the Yankees have layered outfield depth at a moment when the big-league picture behind Judge remains unsettled.
The timing lands as the Yankees push through a tight American League East race. New York carried a 54-42 record into the weekend, good for second place, behind the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees went 6-4 over their last 10 games and swept the Washington Nationals before the All-Star break.
For now, the signings are fine print in a long season. The Yankees are wagering that a few of these undrafted gambles pay off, and the college pipeline that keeps pointing toward the Bronx shows no sign of running dry.
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