On Thursday, the Yankees announced the group of 27 players who they are inviting to spring training as non-roster invitees. This cohort of NRIs consists of 13 position players and 14 pitchers, headlined by several of their top prospects in addition to some familiar veteran names. I’ll be taking a look at some of the more notable names on the position player side, while my colleague Nolan introduced you to the pitchers earlier today.
Catchers
Abrahan Gutierrez
The Yankees purchased the contract of Abrahan Gutierrez in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft from the Pirates. He is a right-handed hitting catcher who slashed .235/.316/.275 with one home run and six RBIs in 32 games between Low-A and Triple-A in 2025.
Payton Henry
Payton Henry signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees back in December after electing free agency from the Phillies’ system. The righty catcher was drafted by the Brewers in the sixth round in 2016 and was traded to the Marlins in 2021 for reliever John Curtiss. He made his MLB debut for Miami in 2021 and got 20 big league appearances between that season and the next, slashing .186/.314/.209 with no home runs, four RBIs, and a 58 wRC+ in 51 plate appearances.
Miguel Palma
The Yankees signed Miguel Palma to a minor-league contract in December after he missed much of the 2025 season to injury in the Astros’ system. He’s another right-handed hitting catcher who played 41 games between Rookie, Double-A, and Triple-A last season, slashing .155/.264/.264 with two home runs, 12 RBIs, and a 51 wRC+ in 148 plate appearances.
Ali Sánchez
Ali Sánchez is the fourth righty catcher the Yankees are inviting to camp, signed as a minor-league free agent after getting DFA’d and released by the Red Sox. The 29-year-old was signed as an international free agent by the Mets in 2013 and has since played for the Cardinals, Marlins, Blue Jays, and Red Sox. In 50 big league appearances across the last six seasons, he has slashed .183/.220/.233 with no home runs, four RBIs, a 24 wRC+, and -0.3 fWAR in 133 plate appearances. Presumably, he would be the emergency third catcher option if any of Austin Wells, J.C. Escarra, or Ben Rice get hurt in camp.
Infielders
Jonathan Ornelas
Jonathan Ornelas joined the Yankees last November on a minor league pact after getting DFA’d and electing free agency from the Braves. He was the Rangers’ third-round selection in the 2018 MLB Draft, and he earned the organization’s 2022 minor league Defender of the Year honors. He made his MLB debut in 2023 and received an 18-game runout in 2024 as an injury replacement for Corey Seager before getting traded to the Braves the following year for cash considerations. In 32 games at the big league level, the righty-hitting shortstop and third baseman slashed .208/.263/.245 with no home runs, three RBIs, a 47 wRC+, and -0.2 fWAR in 58 plate appearances.
George Lombard Jr.
George Lombard Jr. was the Yankees’ first-round selection in the 2023 MLB Draft and is their top-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline at No. 32 overall. The son of former major-league outfielder George Lombard, the 20-year-old shortstop played 132 games between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset in 2025, slashing .235/.367/.381 with 32 doubles, 9 homers, 35 stolen bases, a 15-percent walk rate, 25.2-percent strikeout rate, and a 127 wRC+. He struggled initially at the plate upon his promotion and is unlikely to be called up to the majors in 2026 according to Brian Cashman, though the GM said in the same sentence that his defense was big-league ready. This is his second spring as an NRI after impressing last spring with a pair of home runs in 28 plate appearances.
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Paul DeJong
Paul DeJong is a former All-Star shortstop with the Cardinals who is now with his seventh organization. He signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees on January 4th after missing half of the 2025 campaign with a fractured nose and cheekbone, sustained upon getting hit in the face with a 93-mph fastball. He spent the first seven seasons of his career in St. Louis, leading all NL shortstops with 25 home runs in 2017 en route to finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year voting behind Cody Bellinger, and slugged a further 30 in his lone All-Star season in 2019.
However, injuries sapped DeJong’s effectiveness not long after signing a six-year, $26 million extension with St. Louis, and he was subsequently traded to the Blue Jays and picked up off waivers by the Giants before signing a one-year deal with the White Sox, getting traded to the Royals, and finally signing a one-year deal with the Nationals. In 57 games for Washington last year, DeJong slashed .228/.269/.373 with six home runs, a 76 wRC+, and 0.2 fWAR. He seems to profile as infielder injury insurance should someone join Anthony Volpe on the IL to begin 2026.
Zack Short
Zack Short signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees in December after bouncing around the Tigers, Mets, Red Sox, Braves, and Astros. The 30-year-old infielder is primarily a shortstop, though he has logged a fair number of innings at second and third. In 243 big league games, Short has batted .172/.271/.296 with 15 home runs, a 59 wRC+, and -1.5 fWAR. Just to shoot from the hip, he’s probably more likely than DeJong to accept a Triple-A depth role.
Outfielders
Kenedy Corona
Kenedy Corona signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees last December after clearing waivers and electing free agency from the Astros. The 25-year-old righty outfielder signed with the Mets as an international free agent in 2019 and was traded to the Astros for Jake Marisnick at the end of that season. He has just four big league plate appearances to his name, going hitless but drawing a pair of walks for Houston in 2025.
Duke Ellis
Duke Ellis was a surprising late addition to the Yankees’ 2024 ALDS roster despite having made just 11 big league appearances in his career. His speed has always been a threat in the minor leagues, with the 28-year-old outfielder having swiped 180 bags across the lower levels. He’s undoubtedly ticketed for a “Triple-A outfield depth” role (just like last year) unless something weird happens.
Utility
Ernesto Martínez Jr.
Ernesto Martínez Jr. signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees last December after electing free agency from the Brewers’ organization. The 26-year-old lefty is primarily a first baseman and played the entirety of the 2025 season at Triple-A, where he slashed .255/.357/.388 with six home runs and a 104 wRC+ across 80 games and 311 plate appearances. He offers perhaps the most intrigue of the Yankees’ recent minor-league signings to earn a spring training invite given the improvements he has made with drawing walks and limiting strikeouts to go along with the power upside he has flashed over the last three minor league seasons.
Seth Brown
Seth Brown was drafted by the Athletics in the 19th round in 2015, debuted in 2019, and spent the first seven seasons of his career in their organization. His best performances came in 2021 and 2022, when the lefty bat slugged at least 20 home runs and posted above-average production by wRC+ in both seasons, playing 150 games in 2022 with roughly equal reps at first base and in the outfield.
Brown has always graded out poorly as a defender though and is likely a primary DH at this point in his career. He lost his job as a starter in 2025 with the youth movement in Sacramento, and appeared in just 38 games, slashing .185/.303/.262 with one home run, three RBIs, a 64 wRC+. and -0.4 fWAR. If he can get back to some respectability with the bat, he could help, but it will have to be at Triple-A. Brown may take a ticket to Scranton, however, as he did get 161 PA at the level last year, accepting assignments there from the A’s and later the Diamondbacks.
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Marco Luciano
Marco Luciano was long one of the prospect darlings in the Giants’ organization after they signed him to a $2.6 million signing bonus as one of the top international prospects in 2018. He was selected to play in the 2021 All-Star Futures Game and was the youngest player in the league as a participant in the 2021 Arizona Fall League. He ascended to become the Giants’ top overall prospect in 2022 and was added to their 40-man roster at the end of the season for Rule 5 protection.
However, Luciano’s development has stalled out after suffering a back stress fracture in the 2022-23 Dominican Winter League. Strikeouts and poor contact rates have always been a major issue at Triple-A and above, with strikeout and whiff rates hovering well above 30 percent between both levels since the start of 2023. He has bounced around quite a bit this winter, getting claimed off waivers and subsequently DFA’d by the Pirates, claimed and DFA’d by the Orioles, and finally claimed and DFA’d by the Yankees, passing through waivers and outrighted to Triple-A. New York will be hoping they can help him reclaim some semblance of that former top prospect pedigree.
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