Yankees give up on Franchy Cordero, send him to Triple-A

ARLINGTON, Texas — After a spate of unsuccessful games following a great start, Franchy Cordero won’t have more MLB opportunities to prove himself. The Yankees sent him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday. The move opens up a place for Jake Bauers without having to jettison injured Aaron Judge.

After a wild first two weeks in free agency, the Yankees signed the journeyman outfielder on Opening Day. He started on a big note bagging RBIs and home runs. But Franchy Cordero completely stopped hitting in the last nine games.

Franchy Cordero demoted

On Friday night, the Yankees fell 5-2 to the Rangers, mostly due to Franchy Cordero’s poor performance at the bat and in right field at Globe Life Field. Following that, the Dominican left-handed batter was demoted to Triple-A.

After a 0-for-3 performance with two strikeouts, Franchy Cordero was demoted. In his previous 21 at-bats, he has gone hitless, dropping his batting average to .151 wins out of 18 games.

“It’s been a struggle since really having some impactful games for us early,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s probably chasing a little bit.”

Franchy Cordero hit a double in his debut game, which drove in two runs. His home run streak continued for the following six games. In his first seven games, he had a .280 average, four home runs, and eleven RBI. Since then, he has only managed one hit in his last 28 at-bats while striking out 13 times.

“Baseball is tough, really tough,” Cordero said through team interpreter Marlon Abreu. “When you’re getting good results in this league, pitchers are going to make adjustments. Credit to them for making an adjustment and now I have to find a way to make my adjustments.

“We have a saying: Sometimes they pitch you backward. Probably in the last couple of games, they’ve been getting ahead with breaking pitches and finishing with hard stuff. I’ve seen some of the patterns have changed.”

Franchy Cordero struggled

Franchy Cordero also struggled on Friday, as two hard-hit fly balls he missed in right field resulted in extra-base singles. In the first, he appeared to aim his glove in the wrong direction, and in the second, he took a wrong turn.

“They would have been great plays,” Boone said. “They were hit on the screws, so really difficult chances.”

Franchy Cordero was certain he could have grabbed both.

“I think so,” he said. “Sometimes things don’t work out the way you want it. The thing is, you got to keep on working so that you make plays like that in the future.”

Franchy Cordero’s Triple-A future

First baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers is expected to replace Franchy Cordero on the Yankees’ 26-man roster, but this has not yet been confirmed. After a stellar start to the season at Triple-A, Bauers joined the club in Texas on Friday as a one-man taxi squad.

The Yankees will have to make room on their 40-man roster for Bauers. Lou Trivino, the bullpen’s setup man, might be placed on the 60-day disabled list rather than the 15-day injured list if this is the case.

“What he’s doing in Triple-A right now it’s phenomenal,” Boone said of Bauers. “He’s earned that opportunity to at least be in this position to be truly considered.”

If Franchy Cordero’s option is picked up, the Yankees may not have to place outfielder Aaron Judge on the disabled list. Judge departed Thursday night’s game against the Rangers in the fourth inning with right hip pain. In his postgame press conference, Boone noted that Friday’s MRI revealed “something small” that may or may not need a brief stint on the injured list.

On Friday night, the Yankees said they would wait until Saturday to make a decision regarding Judge.

Franchy Cordero has once again failed at making consistent use of all five of his abilities. He’s a career player, but he’s shown flashes of brilliance, particularly at the start of this season. He played 245 games across five seasons (2017–19 with the Padres, 2020 with the Royals, 2021 with the Red Sox, and 2022 with the Yankees), batting .215 with 25 home runs and 66 RBI.

“We know he can impact the ball, but he’s got to do it more frequently,” Boone said.

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