The Yankees sent prospect Carlos LaGrange to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this week, but they’re not happy about it.
LaGrange turned what should’ve been a routine roster decision into a genuine headache. The flame-throwing right-hander wasn’t even on the Opening Day radar when camp started.
Then he went out and posted a 0.66 ERA across 13.2 spring innings, allowing just one run and forcing the Yankees to seriously consider breaking him north.
They didn’t. But that doesn’t mean they wanted to send him down.
“He made it a difficult decision,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters, via MLB.com. “Coming into this, I wouldn’t have even thought there was a decision. He’s definitely got everyone’s attention. I love where he’s at. I would not be surprised if he is impacting us early, middle, later part of the season.”
That’s manager-speak for “we’ll see him soon.”
LaGrange sits at No. 79 on MLB Pipeline’s prospect rankings, though that number feels light after this spring. The comparisons to former Yankees reliever Dellin Betances are obvious – big frame, premium velocity, swing-and-miss stuff.
But here’s what makes LaGrange different: he’s staying in the rotation. Betances eventually moved to the bullpen full-time, but the Yankees think LaGrange can stick as a starter.
That’s where the real upside lives. Relief prospects can help quickly. Starting pitching prospects who can actually start? Those guys can change everything.
The Yankees made the logical choice here. LaGrange needs more seasoning, and they’ve got plenty of veteran arms ahead of him. But Boone’s comments suggest they’re already thinking about when, not if, he gets his shot.
All things considered, this feels like a delay rather than a setback. The way this spring went, LaGrange turned himself into someone the Yankees are planning around rather than hoping develops.
That’s a pretty good month’s work for a guy who wasn’t supposed to be part of the conversation yet.
