Yankees ready to make a big addition to the farm system

Yankees fans may be disappointed with MLB Lockout, but it hasn’t stopped the franchise from signing with a major international free agent.

Yankee fans waiting to see their favorite team take down a big name starting in the 2022 season need to wait for the MLB Lockout to end. The current shutdown, however, hasn’t stopped Brian Cashman from potentially placing the franchise’s future initiator in a significant position in the domestic market.

Roderick Arias is considered by many to be the top international amateur free agent on the market this season and he is poised to sign for New York. According to MLB sources, Yankees will set aside $3.5 million to achieve a breakthrough. That still leaves Cashman and his main office with over $1.5 million to work on the international market but Arias will clearly be the organization’s most popular addition.

Adding a #1 rated lead is always a good thing for the team, but it’s interesting that Cashman turns out such a large signing bonus for a player who occupies the same position as the team’s two top prospects at the moment. Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza both have bright futures in the Bronx and predict at a minimum, major league-level lack of quality. The Yankees will be hoping Arias can fall behind them as another forward-thinking lead who could quickly take the top 10 in the organization’s lead rankings.

It was smart for Cashman and his office to ignore the idea of ​​signing so many shoddy points. It’s a premium position and if Volpe, Peraza and Arias all perform well, it will give the organization a great combination of depth and high value commercial chips.

As a prospect, Arias is considered an above-average defender due to his added arm strength. He doesn’t have great range for his position, but he demonstrates quality forefoot and soft hands for a central midfielder.

There’s also quite a bit to like about Arias as an assassin. He shows well from both sides of the plate as well as advanced contact skills for his age. Arias is just a sort of instrumental lead that New Yorkers like to bet on in their ranch system.

Arias won’t be helping the Yankees in the pro league anytime soon, but it’s another good international signing for the club. He’s a high-quality prospect in a high-value position whose signing will only strengthen the ceiling and depth of New York’s ranch system.