Josh

VanMeter

Both Underwood and VanMeter were in Yankees camp this spring as non-roster invitees. Underwood latched on with New York back in December as one of the top minor league free agents on the open market with 144 big-league appearances on his resume since 2018.

Peraza entered last year’s spring training as the favorite to win the Yankees starting shortstop job but lost out to Anthony Volpe, who had a tremendous spring. Since then, Peraza shifted to playing third base, where he certainly has the arm to stick, but the bat has not been consistent in the majors so far. Something Aaron Boone mentioned. “He has ability and the tools to do it. It’s that last step that can be challenging. Triple A is one thing. Doing it on a consistent basis at the big leagues is another layer.” Boone mentioned that Peraza was battling with Oswaldo Cabrera, Kevin Smith, Jeter Downs, Jorbit Vivas, and Josh VanMeter for the final infield spot on the Opening Day roster.

VanMeter, 28, spent much of 2021 and 2022 in the majors, but he was limited to 51 minor league games last year, hitting .209/.400/.354 in the Brewers system. He’ll be Triple-A depth for the Yankees at the beginning of the season.

There are some notable names with big league experience among the latest round of Brewers’ cuts including Singleton, VanMeter, Alvarez and Bolt. The quartet could wind up finding themselves in Milwaukee at some point this year, but will open the regular season at Triple-A Nashville.

Andruw Monasterio replaced him in the lineup. VanMeter, a non-roster player, can be considered day-to-day for now.

VanMeter offers a ton of defensive versatility and will compete this spring for a spot on the Brewers’ Opening Day roster as a super-utility specialist. The 27-year-old batted .187/.266/.292 with three homers and four steals across 192 plate appearances over 67 games last season for the Pirates.

VanMeter hit a paltry .187/.266/.292 with three home runs and four stolen bases across 192 plate appearances over 67 games this season. The 27-year-old offers some defensive versatility and should be able to latch on somewhere else this offseason.

VanMeter was just hitting .187/.266/.292 across 67 games and quickly cleared waivers after being designated for assignment Wednesday. He will head to the minors and serve as organizational depth for the Pirates.

VanMeter, 27, was slashing just .187/.266/.292 through 67 games this season with Pittsburgh.

VanMeter batted leadoff in this one but nevertheless was pinch-hit for in the eighth inning by the light-hitting Kevin Newman. He’s just 1-for-17 so far in July and is sitting on a .574 OPS.