Several members of the New York Yankees organization have been spending part of their offseason competing in the Dominican Winter Leagues in the hopes of keeping their game sharp ahead of the 2021 season.
After a disappointing year at the plate, Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez has gotten off to a hot start with LIDOM’s Toros del Este, the winter home of fellow Yankees teammate Miguel Andujar.
Through five games and 16 at-bats, Sanchez is hitting .313 with two doubles, two home runs, six RBI and an OPS of 1.289.
The 28-year-old backstop has been one of the central discussion points for the Yankees this offseason, but the team recently made it official that the Santo Domingo native would be back on the roster for 2021.
Andujar, 25, played in 21 of the Yankees’ 60 games during the 2020 regular season while spending time at the team’s alternate site, and so far with the Toros he’s hitting .182 through his first three appearances.
Also joining the Toros this winter is Yankees pitcher Domingo German, who is hoping to reclaim a spot in the Yankees rotation after serving an 81-game suspension retroactive to Sept. 19, 2019, for violating the league’s domestic violence policy.
The 28-year-old right-hander is not guaranteed a spot until Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner is convinced German “deeply regrets and is sorry for what he what he did,” as he told The Michael Kay Show earlier this year.
Through four outings so far, German has pitched to a 5.17 ERA while striking out 16 batters in 15 innings and walking eight. With free-agency decisions still looming for the Bombers, spots in the Yankees rotation are up for grabs and German has an opportunity to get back on track after a stellar 2019 season.
Around the rest of the Dominican Winter League are four more Yankees prospects, pitchers Albert Abreu, Deivi Garcia and Luis Gil (Tigres del Licey) and outfielder Estevan Florial (Leones del Escogido).
Abreu, 25, has pitched 10 1/3 innings for the Tigres, going 0-2 with an impressive 1.74 ERA and a K/BB ratio of 14/9. He is currently ranked the No. 12 prospect in the Yankees organization and made his MLB debut back on Aug. 8, 2020.
Garcia, 21, has pitched just 3 2/3 innings over a pair of appearances, allowing two runs (4.91 ERA) on two hits and striking out two batters. The No. 3 prospect for the Yankees was a breakout talent in 2020 and is expected to claim a rotation spot in the Bronx even at his young age.
Gil, 22, owns a 6.35 ERA through his first two outings during which span he’s pitched 5 2/3 innings, surrendered four earned runs, struck out four and walked three. Gil is the fifth-ranked Yankees prospect per MLB.com and will look to bring his elite fastball (75-grade) to the big leagues as early as this year.
Over on Leones del Escogido, the 23-year-old outfield prospect Florial has made 10 appearances and slashed .154/.313/.192 with four runs, six walks, a double and one stolen base. The speedy youngster is hoping to elevate his offensive firepower for next season as he looks to remain among the top prospects (No. 7) in the Yankees organization heading into next season.
For more on the Yankees this offseason, be sure to tune into the latest edition of Yankees Hot Stove airing Thursday on YES Network at 7 p.m.