Roster Moves: Yankees Add Pair of Promising Young Players to 40-Man Roster
The 6 PM deadline for the Yankees to finalize their 40-man roster has passed and the organization has added two prospects to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. Players become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, which takes place at the Winter Meetings, within four seasons of being signed unless they first signed at 18 years old or younger, which would occur within five seasons. Headlining the crop of new players on the 40-man roster was Caleb Durbin, who was just named 2025 AFL Player of the Year and is in the mix for the second base job this year.
Also added was catcher Jesus Rodriguez, who posted a 144 wRC+ with a .481 SLG% between High-A and Double-A, and he too brings some versatility as a 22-year-old with experience in the infield and outfield.
Caleb Durbin and Jesus Rodriguez Added to Yankees 40-Man Roster
It’s not surprising to see that the Yankees protected Caleb Durbin, who they’ve talked up plenty in recent weeks with Aaron Boone referring to the versatile 24-year-old as a stud. Across 82 games he hit 10 home runs and posted a 9.9% strikeout rate with a 129 wRC+ in Triple-A, showing off elite contact abilities while improving his game power and overall ability to do damage on contact.
Another aspect of his game that appeals to the Yankees is the excellent baserunning, as Durbin swiped 29 bases in 32 attempts with Scranton, and his baserunning prowess carried over into a historic AFL campaign. He swiped a single-season record 29 bases in 30 attempts, needing just 24 games to reach that mark, and his five home runs and .976 OPS showed that the bat was still solid.
The Yankees landed Caleb Durbin as the return from the Braves for Lucas Luetge, who posted a 2.71 ERA across 129.2 innings in New York but posted a 7.24 ERA in Atlanta. A little-known prospect at the time, he’ll be joined by another player whose stock has blossomed in recent years.
Signed as an international free agent, Jesus Rodriguez impressed many with his performance in his age-22 campaign at High-A and Double-A. While injuries slowed him down once he reached Somerset, the right-handed hitting catcher smashed 10 home runs in 79 games with 14 doubles and four triples, displaying solid power but also having a really strong hit tool.
Rodriguez struck out just 14.7% of the time while hitting .302, as his high line drive rate and well-rounded approach allowed him to rack up hits. Among hitters with at least 500 plate appearances over the last two seasons in the Yankees’ organization, Jesus Rodriguez is second in wRC+ (138) and first in Batting Average (.307).
The Yankees also announced that they received Carson Coleman from the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, a right-handed reliever with good pitch specs who dealt with injuries over the past two seasons and hasn’t seen in-game action since 2022.
