Three Non-Roster Invitees Who Might Make Yankees’ Roster

There are typically a couple of players on a team’s list of non-roster invites to Spring Training that end up cracking the big league roster. The New York Yankees are one of the stronger teams in the American League, but with injuries as an already-prevalent issue for this squad, they’ll have to ensure that they have the depth, both with pitchers and position players, to keep up in the AL East. So, without further ado, these are the three non-roster invitees who have the best shot of having their name on the big league roster by the end of Spring Training.

Paul DeJong

The Yankees don’t need a lot of help on the offensive side of the ball. With Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham both returning for 2026, there is very little that they need to address in terms of position players. However, with Anthony Volpe out to begin the season, the starting shortstop job is technically up for grabs. 

DeJong has not been the same since leaving St. Louis in 2023. The 32-year-old has put up a .658 OPS and a brWAR of just 0.3 in 308 games since that season. But, with Volpe out for at least a month to begin the year, Dejong has another (granted, short-term) shot at starting. Still, he’ll have to outplay José Caballero, who slashed .266/.372/.456 with 15 stolen bases in just 40 games with New York in 2025. Plus, Gold Glove-winning third baseman Ryan McMahon has reportedly been taking reps at shortstop, too. It’s not very likely, but don’t be surprised if this veteran finds himself on New York’s bench as a utility option.

Elmer Rodriguez

In his opening press conference, Yankees captain Aaron Judge spoke of his disappointment with New York’s lack of activity this offseason. If he’s upset that New York did nothing to improve their bullpen, he’s not entirely wrong. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver have left for another borough, and the Yankees did absolutely nothing to replace their combined value. What’s worse is that this bullpen was not even very good to begin with, arguably costing the Yankees the AL East title as well as the ALDS against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Clearly, the Yankees believe that they’ll find the pitchers they need internally. One potential addition to their pen is Elmer Rodriguez, one of New York’s best performers across their entire farm system in 2025. The 23-year-old was ranked third on MLB Pipeline’s 2025 list of Yankee prospects. Rodriguez quickly shot up to AAA after dominating in Single and Double-A, with an ERA of 2.58, and 176 strikeouts over 150 innings across all three levels. If any Yankee is a starting pitching prospect with a legitimate chance of making the Opening Day roster, it’s him.

Seth Brown

The Yankees signed Brown to a minor league deal in January. Since hitting 25 home runs for the Oakland Athletics in 2022, the 33-year-old veteran has hit just 29 in almost 300 games, sporting a subpar OPS of .667. Even with younger players like Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones in the Yankees’ outfield mix this spring, New York likes to have more experienced backups, so with a solid spring, there is a good chance that Brown can make the Yankees’ roster as a bench player.

Still, New York’s excess of veteran backups calls into question what the futures of young players like Jones and Dominguez look like. The Yankees’ outfield is already quite full, so throwing in another aging veteran into the mix will only take away playing time from the young players who truly need it. Perhaps having all kinds of depth will help New York in the end, but it will come at the unfortunate detriment of a few of their top prospects.