New York

Yankees

Grichuk provides New York with another lefty-mashing platoon outfield option to spell Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham. His arrival seems to further indicate that the Yankees would prefer to have Jasson Domínguez playing everyday at Triple-A instead of languishing on the bench. The 34-year-old veteran is coming off an underwhelming year split between the Royals and Diamondbacks where he batted .228/.273/.401 with nine homers in 113 games. He makes sense as a bench option with the Yankees but can be safely ignored in all fantasy formats.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters he anticipates Schlittler being in the club’s season-opening rotation but added that he likely won’t be built up completely from a pitch count and stamina perspective. The 25-year-old will continue ramping up his throwing program after missing time earlier this spring with back inflammation.

Lombard drew the start at the hot corner for Wednesday’s Florida nightcap and put on an impressive display with a phenomenal barehanded play early in the contest before smacking a 108.8 mph double a couple frames later. The 20-year-old former first-round pick will open the year in the upper minors and could potentially arrive at Yankee Stadium before the regular season comes to a close.

There are debuts, and then there are statements. Weathers’ first start in Pinstripes felt like the latter. The 26-year-old southpaw averaged a sizzling 98.5 mph on his four-seam fastball and topped out at a career-high 99.8 mph, a noticeable jump that immediately turns heads. Acquired from the Marlins last month, he offers short-term fantasy intrigue as he’s slated to open the year in New York’s rotation while Gerrit Cole (elbow) and Carlos Rodón (elbow) are sidelined. Injuries have limited him to just 24 starts over the past two seasons, so durability remains the looming variable. The velocity spike changes the calculus, re-affirming that Weathers is the type of late-round arm that can dramatically impact a fantasy roster if his health cooperates.

Cabrera is going through drills and appears to be moving well, but has not practiced sliding yet and has not appeared in any spring games. Cabrera is set to begin the season as a utility player off the bench, so if he were to start the year on the injured list, that would open up a chance for Amed Rosario to see more playing time and Paul DeJong, Zack Short, Braden Shewmake, or Jorbit Vivas, who all have no minor league options, to make the Yankees Opening Day roster

Goldschmidt’s homer came off Tyler Rogers. Now, Rogers isn’t nearly in midseason form yet with his velocity down by a couple of mph, but he allowed just one homer to right-hander during the regular season last year. Goldschmidt is 4-for-9 as he gets ready for his World Baseball Classic swansong. He’s likely to have a bit role this time after starting for Team USA in the previous two tournaments.

Warren seems to have tightened up his sweeper some; he threw the pitch today two mph harder than he did last year, even as his fastball velocity held steady. That has the potential to be a nice change for him, as it was his weakest pitch last season; the league hit .336 against it.

Both of Rice’s hits were singles. The second was off a lefty in Gregory Soto, which seems good since his playing time against southpaws is in question right now. However, it was just a slow roller to second that he was able to beat out.

Hess, the Yankees’ first-round pick in 2024, got 11 whiffs on 22 swings against Pirates minor leaguers. He’s due to return to Double-A to begin this year after finishing last season with a 2.70 ERA in seven late starts at the level.

Caballero had been planning to play in the Dominican Winter League, but instead decided to “feel fresh” going into spring training and work on his swing at Driveline Baseball in Tampa. According to The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, Caballero’s “goal is to improve his average bat speed to 71 mph this season, which would have been a shade under last year’s MLB average (71.7 mph).” In his first spring training action, the 29-year-old utility player hit a 405-foot home run. Caballero will get a chance to start at shortstop for the Yankees with Anthony Volpe (shoulder) out, so if he’s able to add some power to his elite speed, he could be a major steal where he’s going in fantasy drafts.