Yankees Minor League Free Agent Dominates in Spring Debut

The signing of Yovanny Cruz didn't come with much pomp and circumstance. He bounced around the Boston Red Sox minor league system in 2025 and became a free agent at the end of the year. The New York Yankees snagged him and signed him to a minor league deal back in November.

The organization had been trying out their young arms all spring, and Cruz finally made his debut with the team against the Atlanta Braves. It was an eventful inning of relief for a 26-year-old who has yet to make their big league debut despite bouncing around the minors throughout his professional career.

Feb 18, 2025; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Yovanny Cruz (82) participates in media day at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Cruz made his one inning of work count. He replaced Kelly Austin in the bottom of the fifth with a trio of major leaguers up at the plate for him in Matt Olson, Austin Riley, and Mike Yastrzemski.

Right away, Cruz peppered the strike zone with triple-digit sinkers. Olson went down swinging on six pitches. The first three the all-star first baseman saw were all sinkers ranging between 99.8 MPH and 100.4. The final three were cutters, and Olson struck out on a cutter at the outer half of the strike zone.

Riley went down faster. Cruz challenged Riley with a 100.8 MPH sinker. He too whiffed on the cutter before eventually going down looking at a 101.5 MPH sinker.

I’ve seen more from Yovanny Cruz’s single spring inning than from Winquest, Chivilli, Bido, De Los Santos, and Coleman all spring. pic.twitter.com/2p9VCMaJWp
— Yankeesource (@YankeeSource) March 13, 2026

Yastrzemski was the only one of the three to put the ball in play finally. On a 100.3 MPH sinker on the outer half of the plate, he made loud contact, but his 101.5 MPH liner found a glove after traveling 321 feet.

In all, Cruz threw 15 pitches. He generated two whiffs and seven called strikes. Of the 15 pitches he threw, nine were that hard sinker. He averaged 100.5 MPH on it. He threw the cutter five times and the changeup just once. He averaged 89 MPH on both.

Could Cruz Make Opening Day Roster?

It would be interesting to see where Cruz would fit in the scenario in which he impresses the Yankee brass and attempts to squeeze onto the Opening Day roster. He likely wouldn't be based on one inning, but it's an outing that is likely to raise some eyebrows considering the talent he took down.

According to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, the bullpen has eight locks. It's David Bednar, Jack Bird, Paul Blackburn, Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Brent Headrick, Tim Hill, and Ryan Yarbrough.

The two guys on the periphery are Angel Chivilli, whom they acquired from the Rockies. Then there's Cade Winquest. Neither has been spectacular, but if the Yankees were to cut Winquest loose, he'd be returned to the Cardinals. There's a chance he gets the job based on that. Chivilli still has one option left, and the Yankees are likely to use it if things go south.

There's still time, but Cruz, who has toiled around in the minors and turns 27 this August without having made his major league debut, could make things interesting. The Yankees will give him another chance soon after what they just saw.

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