Yankees secure Randy Vasquez against Rule 5 Draft

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The Yankees secured their right-handed pitcher Randy Vásquez just before the deadline day. They added him to their 40-man roster. The pitcher is now protected from predatory bids by other MLB franchises and won’t be able to join another team under the Rule 5 draft.

During the 2018-19 international signings, the Yankees signed Randy Vasquez as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic. He is best at throwing curveballs, and Baseball America recently ranked him as the 9th best prospect in the New York farm system. The news source says that his fastball is in the low to mid-90s and that he could become a back-of-the-rotation starter if he works on his control.

Teams that pick players in the major-league part of the Rule 5 Draft have to keep them on their 26-man active roster through spring training and the whole regular season. If they don’t, they have to offer the player back to his old team.

Randy Vásquez, who is 6 feet tall and weighs 165 pounds, has “a powerful, high-spin curveball and a fastball that has reached 98 miles per hour but usually stays in the mid-to-low-90s.”

The 24-year-old played at Double-A Somerset last year. He started 25 games and pitched 115 1/3 innings. He had a 3.90 ERA, 24.2% strikeouts, and 48.3% ground balls. Both of those are good grades, and his 8.3% walk rate is also good. He is likely to start next season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he could make his major league debut at some point in 2023.

At the start of the 2022 season, Randy Vásquez was also ranked No. 90 on Baseball Prospectus’ top 100 list. Vazquez spent all of the 2022 season at Double-A Somerset. In 25 starts, he had an ERA of 3.90. He got 9.4 outs by striking out per nine innings, but 3.2 walks per nine innings.

At the Winter Meetings in San Diego in three weeks, Randy Vásquez will be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. But the Yankees didn’t protect a number of good prospects who were eligible under Rule 5. The list includes catchers Josh Breaux and Anthony Seigler. pitchers Matt Sauer and Zach Green, and infielder duo Andrew Chaparro and Jesus Bastidas.

As of the deadline on November 15, the Yankees have 38 players on their 40-man roster. Two roster spots are still open. Through the Rule 5 Draft, the Yankees can get players from other teams. In the meantime, they can also trade for players or sign free agents to fill out their roster.

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