The churn at the end of the Yankees’ 40-man roster continued Wednesday, with the club taking a flier on another outfielder.
The Yankees claimed Yanquiel Fernández off waivers from the Rockies while designating recently claimed right-hander Dom Hamel for assignment.
The lefty-hitting Fernández, 23, made his MLB debut in 2025, batting .225 with a .613 OPS in 52 games. The Cuba native has been more productive in his minor league career, batting .279 with a .813 OPS — including hitting .284 with a .849 OPS in 64 games at Triple-A last season.
Predominantly a right fielder, Fernández ranked in the 100th percentile for arm strength in the majors last season, per Baseball Savant, averaging 97.2 mph on his throws, which was second only to Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz.
Fernández has one minor league option remaining, allowing the Yankees to stash him as depth at Triple-A.
He became the latest waiver claim for the Yankees this offseason, along with outfielder Michael Siani (since designated for assignment and claimed by the Dodgers), utilityman Marco Luciano (since DFA’d and outrighted to Triple-A), reliever Kaleb Ort (since DFA’d and claimed by the Angels) and Hamel.