Yanquiel

Fernandez

Fernández is the highest-profile inclusion among the latest batch of cuts from Yankees camp after being claimed off waivers from the Rockies earlier in the offseason. Ornelas and Short figure to stick around as emergency stopgap options for New York in case injuries take a toll on their infield depth.

His two at-bats off the bench today both produced 103-mph balls in play. Yanquiel the Yankee is fun, though it probably wasn’t the best thing for his career that he cleared waivers with the Bombers. The former Rockies prospect figures to start off behind both Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones on the Triple-A depth chart.

The 23-year-old outfielder passed through waivers unclaimed and will remain with the Yankees. He’ll stay in big league camp as a non-roster invitee where he’ll get to showcase his power against Grapefruit League competition.

The 23-year-old slugger was just claimed off of waivers from the Rockies on Wednesday, but the Bombers needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the addition of Max Schuemann and unfortunately Fernandez finds himself in roster limbo once again. It seems likely that another team would be willing to take a chance on him on waivers once again.

There’s no room in the Yankees outfield for Fernandez, with both Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez not even getting at-bats; however, this is a good claim for the Yankees. Fernandez is just 23 years old and hit .284/.347/.502 with 13 home runs and just a 14 percent strikeout rate in 64 games at Triple-A Albuquerque in 2025. He also posted a 46 percent pull rate, which should play for a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium.

The Rockies had room on the 40-man roster, so this is a bit surprising. Fernandez is just 23 years old and hit .284/.347/.502 with 13 home runs and just a 14 percent strikeout rate in 64 games at Triple-A Albuquerque in 2025. That success didn’t carry over in his 147 MLB plate appearances, but it was his first crack at the big leagues. There might be something more going on here, but if not, he will certainly get claimed on waivers.

No word yet on the reason for the move. It’ll be Yanquiel Fernández taking over in right field with Warming Bernabel at DH in this one.

Freeman should be ready to return in a couple days, if not sooner. It’ll be rookie Yanquiel Fernández taking over in right field on Sunday in his absence.

Fernández has been on the bench for both games against lefties since he arrived in the majors, and his five starts have seen him twice be hit for by Kyle Farmer with a lefty on the mound. That would all make sense if he were playing for a contender and major league ready aside from being able to hit lefties, but Fernández is 22, clearly not a finished product and playing for one of the worst teams of all-time. He needs to be allowed to try to improve against lefties, whether it’s in Triple-A or in the majors.

There’s zero incentive for the Rockies to push things with just a handful of games left before the All-Star break. It’ll be rookie Yanquiel Fernández taking over in right field on Sunday in his place. Freeman has been one of the few bright spots of late in an otherwise dismal year for Colorado, emerging as a decent option for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues over the last few weeks, hitting .392 (38-for-97) with one homer and nine steals over his last 30 games. He’s presumably day-to-day heading into Monday’s series opener against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.