Cade Winquest’s “Yankeeography” will be clips of him warming up.
The Yankees designate the Rule 5 draft pick for assignment after failing to use him in any of the team’s first 12 games in a bizarre case of roster management. John Heyman of The Washington Post confirmed.
Luis Gil takes his roster spot in order to start Friday’s series opener against the Rays in Tampa.
However, there is still a way for Winquest to stay with the team and perhaps actually get into the game.
The 25-year-old right-hander will now be placed on outright waivers, giving other teams the opportunity to make a claim or for the Yankees to facilitate a trade.
If he clears waivers, Winquist would be offered back to his original team, the Cardinals, for $50,000, and if they refused to take him back, the Yankees could send him to the minor leagues.
With the Cardinals (7-5) rebuilding, it might be a good fit for them to welcome him back since at least one other major league team sees potential in the right flank.
If this is the end for Winquist, there are a lot of questions about how the Yankees will handle a 12-game lineup.
The Yankees did not have to carry him on the Opening Day roster, since most competitive teams do not carry such players due to roster limitations, but he impressed enough in camp to secure a roster spot.
And then he did a lot of sitting.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he almost used Winquist during a 5-0 win over Seattle in the second series, but wanted one more inning before using him “probably.”
“There were a couple of games he was going to be in,” Boone said after Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the A’s. “On off days, for the most part, we were dealing with a fairly full pen most days, except for a few days where we were very short. The situation should present itself, though.
“He is ready to leave when that opportunity comes.”
By choosing not to use Winquest, the Yankees essentially played shortstop for the first four series. Although this did not prevent the team from getting off to a strong 8-4 start, it did lead to some of the team’s most valuable players covering roles that might have otherwise been covered by Winquest or someone else.
Six Yankees outfielders have already appeared in at least half of the team’s games, with Brent Hedrick pitching in one way or another in eight so far.
The Yankees clearly didn’t trust him enough to pitch him, but it’s fair to wonder why the team would carry him for 12 games and play shortstop the entire time and then DFA him shortly after.
The Yankees essentially opted to play with a 25-man roster and may now not reap any benefits from Winquest’s potential upside.
The Cardinals drafted Winquest in the eighth round of the 2022 MLB Draft and he peaked in Double-A, where he posted a 4.19 ERA while serving mostly as a starter.