Yankees Spring Training Profiles (Part 4)

By James Vlietstra

February 26, 2026

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The Yankees are opening spring training desperate for a deep run into the playoffs.  They are coming off back to back 94 win seasons and have a streak of 33 consecutive seasons over .500.  However, they have not won a World Series since 2009.  They have only won one in the past 26 years, their worst stretch since the franchise began in 1903.

Because of the World Baseball Classic tournament, the Yankees will have more players in camp than they typically would.  As the players have begun reporting to camp, let's take a look at who is in camp and what we should expect from them this year.  From my best count, there's roughly six dozen players in camp.  So I am going to present them to you alphabetically, 12 at a time.

Ernesto Martinez Jr....26 year old 1B and NRI.  The Yankees signed him to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.  He has never been on a 40-man roster so the team has full control, including option years.  Last year, he played 80 games in AAA for Milwaukee.  He will likely be in Scranton all year.

Ryan McMahon...31 year old 3B and on the 40.  The Yankees traded for him prior to the trade deadline last summer.  He has two years and $32M remaining on his contract.  After the trade, he produced a 1.1 WAR in exactly 1/3 of a season.  If he produces at the same rate, he will be a fan favorite in the molds of Nettles and Brosius.

Rafael Montero...35 year old RHRP and NRI.  The Yankees signed him to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.  During his career, he has 380 Major League appearances.  Last year, he pitched 60.1 innings over 59 appearances for three teams.  He probably has an opt out date in his contract that he can exercise if he hasn't been added to the 40-man and in the majors.  It will completely depend on how well he pitches whether or not they keep him or release him.

Jonathon Ornelas...25 year old SS and NRI.  The Yankees signed him to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.  He has played 32 games in the Major Leagues over the last three seasons.  Last year, he played at 2B, SS, 3B, LF and CF.  He is out of options, so if they do recall him, they need to keep him in the majors or risk losing him.  He will probably rotate positions in AAA.

Miguel Palma...24 year old C and NRI.  The Yankees signed him to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.  Last year, he played 41 games across three levels for the Astros.  He will probably be a backup catcher in Somerset.

Ben Rice...27 year old C/1B and on the 40.  His offensive metrics have been described as elite, suggesting his 2.3 WAR in 2025 could be just the tip of the iceberg.  He still has five years of team control and two options and will be making the league minimum.  Last year he played 36 games at C, 48 at DH, and 50 at 1B.  This year, he is expected to play a majority of games at 1B, with Paul Goldschmidt serving as a right handed hitting and defensive caddy.  I can see him playing 110+ games at 1B and another 30 or so at C.  He could realistically have a WAR exceeding 5.0.

Carlos Rodon...33 year old LHSP and on the 40.  The Yankees signed him to a six year $162M contract three years ago.  He still has three seasons and $83.5M left.  Last year, he went 18-9 in 195.1 innings, his career high, earning a WAR of 4.6.  He had elbow surgery in October to have bone spurs removed.  Recent reports say he was unable to button his own shirt last year, because of the pain the spurs caused.  He will miss the beginning of the season as he continues to rehab.  It's possible that they put him on the 60-Day IL if they need to add someone to the 40-man roster.  That would mean he is out until Memorial Day.  They would be thrilled if he's back before that, but regardless, they need him back and healthy for a deep playoff run.

Elmer Rodriguez...22 year old RHSP and on the 40.  The Yankees and Red Sox made an under the radar trade last offseason that will be talked about for years, perhaps decades.  The Yankees traded away their backup catcher who promptly put up a great season.  In return, the Yankees got an unheralded Lo-A pitcher.  In 2025, he buzz sawed through two levels, striking out 176 batters in 150 innings.  with a WHIP of 1.073 and a K/W rate of 3.09.  He is now the Yankees number three prospect, according to MLB Pipeline and is a consensus top 100 prospect.  This spring he will be playing in the WBC for Puerto Rico.  He was added to the 40-man roster in November and will probably start the season in AA.  Since he's already on the roster, he could be called up very easily at any point.  He does have three options.  I am expecting him to be competing for an Opening Day roster spot next year.

Amed Rosario...30 year old 3B/SS/OF and on the 40.  The Yankees traded for Rosario last summer and apparently really liked what they saw as they re-signed him to a one year deal worth $2.5M.  He gives the team a right handed hitter off the bench.  He will have to perform to keep his roster spot. There is a lot of competition for very few spots.

Ali Sanchez...29 year old C and NRI.  The Yankees signed him to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.  Over the course of the last six years, he has played 50 games in the majors for four organizations.  Last year, he played 69 games between MLB and AAA.  He is out of options, in case he is recalled.  He was brought in to help handle all the spring training as an experienced catcher.  He will probably start the year in AAA, however, as I write this up, I believe there's already been two or three catchers that I said would likely start there, and they all can't.

Cam Schlittler...25 year old RHSP and on the 40.  He was the Yankees 7th round pick in the 2022 draft.  Going into 2025, he was listed as the team's number 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline.  The team was going to have to decide whether or not to add him to the 40-man roster at season's end.  Instead, through 15 games between Somerset and Scranton, he had 76.2 innings and 99 strikeouts. with a K/W rate of 3.81.  He was getting put into midseason top 100 lists.  Then Clarke Schmidt went down with an arm injury and he was promoted to the big club where he struck out an additional 84 in 73 innings.  He had one of the most dominant postseason starts by a rookie in recent memory.  This year, he comes into spring training as the number two starter, making the minimum.  He still has three options, but I don't anticipate needing those.  His poise and demeanor along with the ability to throw 100 MPH doesn't come around very often.

Clarke Schmidt...30 year old RHSP and on the 40.  The Yankees drafted him in the first round of the 2017 amateur draft.  He finally had established himself in the Yankees rotation and then he required Tommy John Surgery last July.  He agreed to a contract for $4.5M and he still has two more full years of team control before he hits free agency.  Additionally, he still has an option remaining.  The organization has already placed him on the 60-day IL that was used to free up a roster spot.  That automatically keeps him out until Memorial Day.  Even at that point, he would only be 10 1/2 months removed from the surgery that typically takes 14+ months to recover from. It'll probably be closer to September before he's healthy enough to pitch.