2025 Spring Demotions: Nick Kurtz, George Lombard Jr. Head to Minor League Camp

With a little over three weeks left in Spring Training for most of the league, cuts have begun en masse. Multiple teams demoted notable prospects on March, including the Athletics and Yankees. Several former first-rounders, highlighted by Nick Kurtz and George Lombard Jr., are heading back to Minor League camp.

Athletics trim Spring Training roster

The Athletics cut their spring roster down to 43 after the team moved 13 players down to the Minors.

Ryan Cusick, a former first-round pick, was moved to Triple-A Las Vegas along with Gunnar Hoglund and Denzel Clarke.

Ten A’s were re-assigned to Minor League camp, most notably Nick Kurtz. Kurtz has just 12 games under his belt but he hit extremely well in his brief run. The former first-round pick could be in Sacramento at some point in 2025.

Other notable players moved down to Minor League camp for the A’s include Henry Bolte, Colby Thomas, former Mets farmhand Carlos Cortes, and relievers Jason Alexander & Dylan Floro.

Diamondbacks move down 12

Arizona moved down three players on their 40-man roster: Yilber Diaz, Tim Tawa, & Cristian Mena.

Diaz is arguably the most notable of the three, as the D-Backs pitcher — highlighted in our 2025 fantasy pitching rookies to watch — had success at the MLB level last season. However, a spot would need to open up for him to make it into the Arizona rotation.

He struck out four over 3.2 scoreless frames.

Aside from the three, the Diamondbacks pushed down nine to Minor League camp. LuJames Groover (fka Gino), AJ Vukovich, Tristin English, Kristian Robinson, Christian Cerda, Kyle Amendt, Kyle Backhus, Christian Montes De Oca, and Listher Sosa all moved down.

Yankees re-assign Lombard Jr.

The Yankees also re-assigned George Lombard Jr. to Minor League camp. That’s not surprising, given that Lombard Jr. hasn’t played a game above High-A. He didn’t hit too well in Hudson Valley (A+), as he posted a .617 OPS over 29 games.

Lombard Jr. will play in the 2025 MLB Spring Breakout. Make sure to check out watch list for American and National League teams.