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The Yankees did some serious housecleaning that fell under the radar. The organization released a total of 16 players in mid-December, all but one of them being international free agent signings. The lone draftee was Jose Diaz, a lefty drafted in the 29th round of the 2012 MLB Draft.
Everyone else was an international signing that the Yankees evidently were unhappy with. Right-handed pitchers Joaquin Acuna, Daury Aquino, Erick Canela, Edixon Mejia, Edwin Rodriguez, and Wilton Rodriguez, lefty Hector Bello, catchers Ignacio Chevalier and Jose Lopez, third baseman Fu-Lin Kuo, and outfielders Wilson Agramonte, Jorge Alcantara, Sandy Brito, Freite Marte, and Eladio Moronta were all let go. Of those 15, only Wilton Rodriguez and Fu-Lin Kuo saw any extended time playing above rookie ball.
Obviously no one will miss them, but I wonder if they plan to add fresh talent into the system through more international signings or if this is just in preparation for the 2014 draft. It's amazing how some of these kids don't get more than a few games to impress before they're cut loose. Of course, a lot of them are probably just showing no progress and are just too old.
