JACK CUST, COLIN CURTIS RELEASED

Quick note. The Yankees have released Jack Cust. Cust was batting .249 with 20 home runs in Scranton.

In addition to Cust, the Yankees released Colin Curtis. Curtis was a kid who was up every so briefly with the Yankees back in 2010.  Remember, Colin Curtis hit the first home run ever in pinstripes in 2010, a three run home run. Read HERE.

All this info is coming from Donnie Collins of the Scrantion Times-Tribune. Read his Tweet HERE.

Life goes on. Good luck to those guys.

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WHY I HAVE THE YANKEES SPRING TRAINING INVITES LIST

Just a quick note. Here's the list of the 27 guys invited to Spring Training. In this list they have invited 13 minor leaguers which is always fun to watch, as well as some of the guys they just signed like Manny Delcarmen, Bill Hall and Russell Branyan. Check it out... this is in no particular order:
DeWayne Wise: Wise is a terrific outfielder. He'll be a good asset to the Yankees outfield if he makes the Bigs again. The problem with Wise is he has a horrendous career average of .211 in 9 seasons.Russell Branyan: Great lefty power. He was signed yesterday, read HERE. He had 31 homers in 2009. With the Yankees short right field porch, this season could be fun for Branyan and the Yankees.

Manny Delcarmen: A former Red Sock but don't hold it against him. He could be helpful in the pen if he makes the big club. Read all about his signing HERE.Hideki Okajima: I've always like Okajima but it appears that batters have figured him out. In 5 years he has a career 3.11 ERA. Read about his signing HERE.

Doug Bernier: Bernier is an infielder that played for Scranton Wilkes Barre in 2011. He batted .237 last season with 13 doubles and 29 RBIs. He's 31.Manny Banuelos: What can we say about Banuelos other than we can't wait to see him again. I expect to see him up this season at some point. Read about him in THE GUMPTION OF MANNY BANUELOS.

Juan Cedeno: The New York Daily News has this on Cedeno: "has not pitched during the regular season in each of the last three seasons, appearing only in the Dominican Winter League. In 2011, he made 15 relief appearances with the Tigres de Licey and went 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA (8.2IP, 1ER)."

Matt Daley: We got Daley from the Colorado Rockies and he's played in the minors with them. He's 29 years old. In 92 games with the Rockies (MLB) he is 1-2 with a 4.71 ERA.
Colin Curtis: Colin is a solid outfielder and I expect to see him at some point this season. The Yankees are holding on to him believe it is my opinion they believe in him. He did have an injured shoulder in 2011, but in 2010 he has 11 hits in 59 at bats with 3 doubles and a home run.

Kyle Higashioka: Kyle was drafted in the 7th round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft. He's a 21 year old catcher, one of many in the Yankees farm system.

Brett Marshall: The New York Daily News has this on Brett Marshall, "played the entire 2011 season with Single-A Tampa and went 9-7 with a 3.78 ERA (1401.IP, 59ER) in 27 games (26 starts)."
Jayson Nix: We wrote about Jayson Nix HERE when the Yankees signed him. Nix is an infielder who is better defensively than he is with his bat. Maybe he can be useful for the Yanks at some point this season.

Daniel Burawa: a 23 year old right handed pitcher with a lot of potential. Between Charleston and Tampa he was 5-4 with a 3.64 ERA.

Cole Garner: Garner was with the Colorado Rockies minor league system and has 76 home runs in 7 years in the minors. He has a career .286 AVG and is 27 year old outfielder.

Jose Gil: A catcher for the Yanks. The New York Daily News has this on the 25 year old catcher: "has appeared in 506 career minor league games, all in the Yankees organization, hitting .240 (405-for-1,691) with 98 doubles, 34 home runs and 224 RBI over 8 seasons."
Bill Hall: A strong second basemen and outfielder with some pop in his bat, I believe Bill Hall is a low risk pickup the Yankees will be thrilled to have signed down the stretch. Read about Hall HERE.

Adam Miller: We got Adam Miller this winter and he is a former Cleveland Indian. He's never gone pro. His minor league career with the Indians is 33-30 with a 3.71 ERA.
Gustavo Molina: Molina was helpful last season in the beginning of the year when we needed him. He is a solid catcher and a likable guy. Last year he batted .253 with 4 home runs and 21 RBIs for Scranton Wilkes Barre.


JR Murphy: Many expect big things from this kid, another catcher in the Yankees organization. He's only 20 and has a career .274 AVG. Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2009 MLB June Amateur Draft.

Mike O'Connor: O'Connor is a lefty pitcher from the Mets organization. I believe we'll see him this season to help out our lone lefty in the pen, Boone Logan. Read about Mike O'Connor HERE.Ryan Pope: The New York Daily News has this on Pope: "combined to go 2-3 with a 5.12 ERA (45.2IP, 26ER) in 40 combined relief appearances with Single-A Tampa, Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2011."

Gary Sanchez: BYB likes Sanchez but we don't care for his attitude and there has been plenty written about it. We just wrote a recent piece about Sanchez and you need to check it out HERE. In Charleston this year, he had 17 homers and 52 RBIs. There is no doubt he could be a star, but I'd prefer that he lose the attitude and become a team player.

Adam Warren: Warren was in Scranton the entire season and racked up a 3.60 ERA and a 6-8 record. He's only 24 and I will bet we see Warren at some point this season, even if it's brief.

Graham Stoneburner: The Daily News has this on the 24 year old righty pitcher: "owns a career 10-13 record with a 3.03 ERA (234.1IP, 79ER) in 45 combined minor league games in the Yankees organization since 2009. In 2011, he combined at three different levels (GCL, Single-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton) to go 1-5 with a 4.04 ERA (91.1IP, 41ER) in 18 games (16 starts)."

Jorge Vasquez: We love Vasquez and his bat and we believe he can do a lot of damage, but his strikeouts are incredibly high and we wonder at Bleeding Yankee Blue is there is a way for fix that. We wrote about Jorge back in December...read HERE.
Kevin Whelan: Whelan had 23 saves and a great 2.75 ERA in Scranton this season...that was in 45 appearances. He can improve but that's not bad, he's 28. We recently wrote about Whelan HERE.

Chase Whitley: The New York Daily News has this in Whitley: "has appeared in 72 combined career minor league games (one start) with the Yankees since 2010, going 7-7 with a 2.17 ERA (128.1IP, 31ER). In 2011, he went 3-5 with seven saves and a 2.47 ERA (91.0IP, 25ER) in 42 combined games at Single-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton."

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NO YANKEE SIGNINGS? NOT SO FAST...

There are a few notes that are important to know about. Believe me, there is no superstar name attached to the Yankees in this notes post, but still important.

The Yankees are close to signing Dewayne Wise to a minor league deal. This is the guy that pretty much saved Mark Buerhle’s perfect game in 2009 with a fantastic catch in center. Wise is a 4^th outfielder with good speed. With the Yankees designating Greg Golson for assignment after the Rule 5 Draft and then doing the same thing to Colin Curtis once they made Freddy Garcia official, this move would be key. Again, this is nothing huge, but a piece to the Yankee puzzle.

The Yankees want Hiroyuki Nakajima to be a utility player for the Yankees , but also believe that because of that role, Nakajima will most likely not come to the Bronx. Why would he? Honesty? If he’s got it good in Japan, wait it out for a full-time job in the Majors. While this move may be great for many, I could care less.

The Yankees would like to have Andruw Jones back in a part time role much like last season. Read it HERE. I loved Andruw Jones in the role he had with the Yankees. I wrote about it in WHY THE YANKEES BENCH WILL BE A FACTOR because I believe that having Jones there as some extra pop in his bat and an OK 4th outfielder will help things along. I am wondering at what price this happens, but there is no doubt, it should happen.

Prince Fielder is still out there as a free agent ladies and gentlemen and if George Steinbrenner were still alive, we would sign Prince first and figure out where he would play second. Well, it’s not 1996 anymore and we need to be realistic. I love Prince Fielder, but much like Brian Cashman stated to Albert Pujols agent (Read HERE), the Yankees have one of the best defensive first basemen in the game tied up until 2016. Tex isn’t going anywhere and Prince Fielder isn’t going to take a back seat if he came to the Bronx. The timing is wrong, it’s unfortunate, but it’s true.

Adam Miller, a righty pitcher is also close to signing a minor league deal. I didn’t know this but Joel Sherman of the NY Post did (HERE); Miller “was ranked among the majors’ top 100 prospects by Baseball America every year from 2005-2009." I’m not going to sit here and pretend I know anything significant about Miller, Click on his name and check out his stats.

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