Yankees Cut Ties With Infielder After Giancarlo Stanton Move

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kristie Ackert | Last updated Jun 16, 2025 3:57 PM ET

Pablo Reyes scored the Yankees’ only run Thursday night in a 1-0 win. Four days later, he was designated for assignment. Reyes was cut to make room f or Giancarlo Stanton on the 26-man roster before Monday's series-opener against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium.

The move had been telegraphed for days. Reyes was the most likely roster casualty. He played sparingly and hit just .194 with a .242 OBP across 31 plate appearances. The contact wasn’t loud. The chances weren’t many. But the writing had been on the clubhouse wall since last week.

Reyes gave the Yankees steady effort off the bench and flashed his glove all over the field, including nine appearances in the outfield. But with Oswald Peraza still on the roster—despite a .207 average—Reyes became the odd man out. Peraza remains the club’s most trusted backup shortstop. That matters more than Reyes’ hustle.

“The way I look at it, that’s something I can’t control,” Reyes said Thursday night. “Movements like that, that’s for the front office. For me, what I can control is come in here, prepare every day the right way, work hard every day and prepare for opportunities like this tonight.”

He did exactly that. He hustled. He helped win a game. He left it all on the field.

But roster math doesn’t reward effort. It rewards fit. And the Yankees, with Stanton back and lineup flexibility now a daily puzzle, no longer had room for a utility infielder not expected to see regular reps.

If Thursday night was Reyes’ final moment in pinstripes, he made it count. Baseball doesn’t always reward that—but it usually remembers.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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