The Yankees have signed veteran utility man Pablo Reyes to a minor league deal, per a report from Gary Phillips of the New York Every day Information. The infielder will presumably obtain an invitation to massive league Spring Coaching in a couple of months.
Reyes, 31, made his massive league debut with the Pirates again in 2018. That 18-game cup of espresso within the majors went fairly effectively for him, as he slashed a powerful .293/.349/.483 in 63 journeys to the plate down the stretch that September. That robust efficiency earned him a bigger position with the membership as a part of the membership’s Opening Day roster, however he struggled badly and located himself optioned to the minors for a lot of the summer time as he finally slashed simply .203/.274/.322 in 71 video games. A PED suspension worn out Reyes’s 2020 season, however he resurfaced as a member of the Brewers in 2021. He spent two years as a depth piece for Milwaukee, shuttling between Triple-A and the membership’s bench, and hit a middling .258/.330/.344 (84 wRC+) in 103 journeys to the plate with the membership.
He elected free company following the 2022 season and initially signed on with the Athletics on a minor league pact for the 2023 season. He finally didn’t make it to Oakland, nevertheless, failing to crack the membership’s Opening Day roster earlier than being shipped to the Purple Sox in mid-Could. He was shortly chosen to the large league roster in Boston, and his time with the Purple Sox proved to be the best of his massive league profession. Reyes appeared in 64 video games for the Purple Sox final yr, slashing a roughly league common .287/.339/.377 in 185 journeys to the plate.
That was a sufficiently robust efficiency that Boston determined to deliver Reyes again for the 2024 marketing campaign, however issues took a flip for the more serious this yr as he posted a paltry 27 wRC+ within the first month of the yr earlier than being designated for project by the Purple Sox in late April. Reyes was outrighted to the minors initially however shortly discovered himself on the transfer once more as he was dealt to the Mets the next month. Reyes solely made one look in Queens as a pinch runner with out stepping as much as the plate, however he did slash a powerful .300/.385/.504 in 68 Triple-A video games between his two golf equipment’ associates in Worcester and Syracuse.
Now, Reyes will enter 2025 seeking to crack a Yankees bench combine that present figures to function Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, DJ LeMahieu, Jon Berti, and Jorbit Vivas. Whereas Reyes presents little in the way in which of offense, he does present worth within the type of high quality baserunning and the positional flexibility to play in all places on the diamond besides behind the plate. Ought to Reyes discover himself on the surface trying in of the membership’s Opening Day roster subsequent yr, he may very well be a worthwhile supply of non-roster depth for a membership that at the moment initiatives to function a bench with out many optionable gamers.