The Yankees made a notable move on Tuesday, adding prospect Caleb Durbin to their 40-man roster.
The transaction protects Durbin from being scooped up by another team in the Rule 5 Draft next month. Tuesday was the deadline for such protections.
The 24-year-old Durbin was a lock to be added, as he is a candidate to be the Yankees’ starting second baseman next season. At the very least, he’s expected to make an impact in the Bronx.
“I think he’s a stud, frankly,” Aaron Boone recently said. “Great bat-to-ball, elite ability on the bases as a base-stealer, good defender in the middle of the diamond at second base. He’s really started over the last year-plus to create some position flexibility. He’s played some short, he’s played some third. We introduced him to some outfield this year, all with the mind that this guy is going to be a big league player.
“He’s going to play a big role for us this upcoming season.”
Boone’s rave review came a few days after Brian Cashman mentioned Durbin as an option at second. The Yankees currently have a hole there, as Gleyber Torres is a free agent.
Durbin has been turning heads all year, starting with a spring training showing that impressed numerous coaches on the Yankees’ big league staff. A product of Division III Washington University in St. Louis, Durbin has also gained support in the front office since being acquired from the Braves for Lucas Luetge in December 2022.
Last July, Kevin Reese, the Yankees’ vice president of player development, said that Durbin “has the potential to be an everyday player at second base in the big leagues when the time comes.”
A wrist fracture limited Durbin to 90 games, 82 of which were played at Triple-A, last season. Despite the shortened season, he set career-highs with 25 doubles, 10 home runs and a .451 slugging percentage, adding some pop to a .275 average, .388 on-base percentage, 60 RBI, 31 steals and a 9.9 K%.
Durbin then went on to hit .312/.427/.548 with five home runs and 21 RBI in 24 Arizona Fall League games. His 29 stolen bases set the league’s record, and he won the AFL’s Breakout Prospect of the Year Award.
In 2,392 plate appearances since the start of his college career, Durbin has struck out just 153 times.
“He’s been gifted with a superpower of not ever swinging and missing, and with that power comes great responsibility, as they say,” Triple-A hitting coach Trevor Amicone recently told the Daily News while detailing Durbin’s focus on hitting for more power last year. “When he swings, he’s going to make contact, so he has got to be very selectively aggressive at the pitches that he swings at.”
Durbin was not the only Yankees prospect added to the 40-man roster on Tuesday, as Jesús Rodríguez also received a spot. He’s not quite ready for the majors, as he played his first 23 games at Double-A last season.
While the 22-year-old is listed as a catcher on the team’s website, Rodríguez has played every position except shortstop. Still, the Yankees technically have five catchers on their 40-man roster right now. That doesn’t include Ben Rice, who spent a lot of time at first base in 2024, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Bombers continue trading from that depth after dealing Kyle Higashioka, Ben Rortvedt, Luis Torrens and Agustín Ramírez over the past year.
Offensively, Rodríguez has shown a knack for making contact over five minor league seasons. He struggled a bit at Double-A while battling injuries last season, but the Venezuelan is a .311/.397/.477 hitter with 25 home runs, 167 RBI and 49 stolen bases over 282 minor league games.
Between High-A and Double-A, Rodríguez slashed .302/.375/.481 with 10 homers, 47 RBI and a 14.7 K% last year.
Finally, the Yankees announced that they received right-handed pitcher Carson Coleman as a Rule 5 Draft returnee from the Rangers.
Coleman has not pitched in two seasons due to injuries. However, the reliever looked electric in the Yankees’ system in 2022 prior to Tommy John surgery, recording a 2.13 ERA while striking out 95 batters over 63.1 innings.
