Yankees Sign Outfielder After Canceled Cardinals Deal

Pena, who is listed as being 18-years-old , hails from the Dominican Republic and was an international free agent in the class of 2025. He was initially set to sign for $300,000 with the St. Louis Cardinals, per MLB.com's Jesse Borek back in January.

That deal was not seen through for one reason or another, however, with no official reasoning ever given as to why he is no longer a member of the Cardinals' organization. Pena also did not play in the minor leagues during the 2025 season.

"18-year-old Dominican OF Yostin Pena signed a minor league contract," wrote Yankees Prospect Watch on X. "Interesting. His page says he was signed on International Signing Day in January with the Cardinals, but did not play in 2025 and doesn’t say he got released. Wonder how that happened."

Pena's Potential Path with Yankees

Given that there's little known about Pena at this point in time, it's hard to gauge what level of player and prospect he'll be and eventually grow into for the Yankees.

It is safe to assume, however, that Pena's first stop in affiliated ball with New York will come in the Dominican Summer League (DSL) next year, as is the standard for most international prospects.

The DSL typically opens play in early June and runs through the end of August.

State of Yankees' Farm System

In his most recent farm system rankings, which was posted on August 26, ESPN's Kiley McDaniel ranked the Yankees No. 25 after placing them at No. 21 entering the 2025 campaign.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter also put the Yankees at No. 25 in his final rankings of the 2025 season back in September after they were dead last at No. 30 entering the year.

MLB Pipeline currently has four Yankees farmhands ranked within its Top 100 prospects, with infielder George Lombard Jr. receiving the highest placement of that group at No. 25.

Right-handed pitchers Carlos Lagrange and Elmer Rodriguez came in at No. 74 and No. 97, respectively, while outfielder Spencer Jones snuck in at No. 99.

Jones is perhaps the most major league-ready of that bunch, as he posted a .932 OPS with 35 home runs across 506 plate appearances in the minors this past season.

The 24-year-old may also be used as a trade chip, however, with Trent Grisham set to return after accepting his $22.025 million qualifying offer while back-to-back American League MVP Aaron Judge will patrol right field.

With the Yankees still looking to bring back Cody Bellinger while remaining in the mix for Kyle Tucker, both Jones and Jasson Domínguez could be moved if the team finds a suitable deal for them that would upgrade another area of their roster.

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