Yankees sign Matt Duffy, announce 2020 Player Pool

Today, teams had to submit their rosters to Major League Baseball by 4 PM. The 2020 Player Pool has 60 spaces: 30 for the active roster, and another 30 for a taxi squad. The Yankees announced their roster a short time ago, and with 58 players currently on heading to summer camp.

The biggest surprise comes in the form of Matt Duffy, a veteran infielder whom the Yankees inked to a minor-league contract. Duffy, 29, played in parts of five seasons between the Giants and Rays, having debuted in 2014. Injuries prevented him from playing in 2017, and shortened his 2019 campaign as well. He hit .252/.343/.327 with one home run (88 wRC+) over 169 plate appearances last year. Grading out as a solid third baseman, he also plays an adequate second base, and can fake it at shortstop in an emergency. The Yankees have the luxury of adding depth to the taxi squad, so while Duffy won’t be a game-changer, he represents a nice pickup.

The club also signed Max McDowell to a minor-league deal. The 26-year-old catcher has been in the Brewers’ system since 2015, when Milwaukee drafted him in the 13th round. The catcher hit .213/.333/.314 with four home runs in Double-A last year. The Brewers released him on May 31. Expect him to serve as a backup catcher for the taxi squad.

The entire Player Pool, to date, is as follows:

Catchers
Kyle Higashioka
Chris Iannetta
Erik Kratz
Max McDowell
Gary Sanchez
Josh Thole

Infielders
Matt Duffy
Thairo Estrada
Mike Ford
Kyle Holder
DJ LeMahieu
Gleyber Torres
Gio Urshela
Luke Voit

Infielders/Outfielders
Miguel Andujar
Rosell Herrera
Tyler Wade

Outfielders
Estevan Florial
Clint Frazier
Brett Gardner
Zack Granite
Aaron Hicks
Aaron Judge
Giancarlo Stanton
Mike Tauchman

Pitchers
Albert Abreu
Domingo Acevedo
Daniel Alvarez
Luis Avilan
Zack Britton
Luis Cessa
Aroldis Chapman
Gerrit Cole
Deivi Garcia
Luis Gil
Chad Green
David Hale
J.A. Happ
Ben Heller
Jonathan Holder
Tommy Kahnle
Michael King
Brooks Kriske
Jonathan Loaisiga
Tyler Lyons
Luis Medina
Jordan Montgomery
Nick Nelson
Dan Otero
Adam Ottavino
James Paxton
Adonis Rosa
Clarke Schmidt
Masahiro Tanaka
Nick Tropeano
Alexander Vizcaino
Miguel Yajure
Tony Zych

Summer camp open on Wednesday July 1 at Yankee Stadium, with Opening Day against the Nationals on July 23.