The Yankees are in need of a new international scouting director, Brian Cashman confirmed on Wednesday.
The general manager decided against keeping Donny Rowland in the position when his contract expired earlier this offseason. The 62-year-old spent 15 years in the role and 23 years in the Yankees organization.
“Like anything else, you gotta make some very difficult decisions,” Cashman said. “I’ve been involved with Donny Rowland for a long time. Obviously, we have worked alongside each other for a long time, and he’s run the department for quite some time. But fork in the road, contract had expired, and so I made the difficult decision to look for a different lead voice in that chair. So that’s what we’re doing at this stage.”
Cashman added that the Yankees are still in the process of gathering names and have yet to interview any candidates. Rowland, meanwhile, did not respond to requests for comment.
Francys Romero first reported Rowland’s departure.
The Yankees decided to move on from Rowland after spending millions of dollars on international prospects who didn’t or have yet to pan out over the years.
This past August, the team released 24-year-old Cuban shortstop Alexander Vargas. His $2.5 million signing bonus led the team’s 2019 international class, but he was struggling at Double-A (.633 OPS) at the time of his release. Picked up by the Reds, Vargas went on to post a .617 OPS for their High-A affiliate.
Another Cuban, 20-year-old outfielder Brando Mayea, has yet to play above rookie ball after signing for $4.35 million in 2023. Roderick Arias, a Dominican shortstop who was once considered a top-100 prospect, is coming off his worst professional season after tallying a .640 OPS at Low-A. The 21-year-old, who signed for $4 million in 2022, has also made over 20 errors in each of the last two seasons while also spending time at second and third.
Another Dominican shortstop, Mani Cedeno, signed for $2.5 million this year before hitting .183 in rookie ball, though he was only 16.
Hans Montero signed as a shortstop for $1.7 million in 2017, but the Dominican didn’t play the position in 2025, his second straight year of A-ball. Venezuelan outfielder Raimfer Salinas got a $1.85 million bonus in 2017, but he was released after receiving an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs in 2023 and hasn’t played professionally since.
Other costly misses incurred under Rowland’s watch include Dominican corner infielder Nelson Gomez ($2.25 million, 2014), Dominican outfielder Juan De Leon ($2 million, 2014), and Venezuelan outfielders Jonathan Amundaray ($1.5 million, 2014) and Antonio Cabello ($1.35 million, 2017).
Dominican first baseman Dérmis Garcia got $3 million from the Yankees in 2014 and made the majors, but his big league career lasted just 39 games and was spent with the Athletics.
While the Yankees burned money on international free agents during Rowland’s tenure, his most notable signing was arguably Jasson Domínguez. The Dominican outfielder set a franchise record when he inked for a $5.1 million signing bonus at age 16 in 2019, and he quickly soared through the minor league ranks.
Domínguez, 22, is still finding his way at the game’s highest level after completing his first full big league campaign. While he went from being the Yankees’ everyday left fielder to a bench role by season’s end, he has flashed plenty of potential and figures to be a part of the Yankees’ future or a valuable trade chip.
Some of Rowland’s expensive signings have already been involved in trades that have directly impacted the current and recent big league roster. Venezuelan outfielder Everson Pereira ($1.5 million, 2017) helped the Yankees get José Caballero from the Rays, while Dominican outfielder Kevin Alcántara ($1 million, 2018), a top-five prospect in the Cubs’ system, went to Chicago in the Anthony Rizzo trade. South Korean utilityman Hoy Park ($1 million, 2014) was part of the deal that netted Clay Holmes from Pittsburgh.
Agustín Ramírez only signed for $400,000 in 2018, but the Dominican catcher was the centerpiece of the trade that landed Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Marlins.
Rowland hit on some other cheaper signings, including Venezuelan utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera ($100,000, 2015), Dominican pitcher Luis Severino, ($225,000, 2011) and Dominican utilityman Miguel Andujar ($750,000, 2011).
Dominican right-hander Carlos Lagrange, currently a top-100 prospect, signed for just $10,000 in 2022.
The jury is also still out on two of Rowland’s more recent high-priced signings, Dominican center fielder Francisco Vilorio ($1.7 million, 2024) and Dominican shortstop Stiven Marinez ($1.65 million, 2024). Neither has advanced past the Dominican Summer League.
