TAMPA -- Hardly anyone blinked when the Yankees added several prospects to their 40-man roster this offseason.
Shortstop Jorge Mateo, third baseman Miguel Andujar and others have an obvious chance at reaching the Bronx in the next year are two. They're talented. They're advancing through the organization's stacked minor league system. it made sense that the team would protect itself from losing them in the Rule 5 Draft.
But 20-year-old righty Freicer Perez was a bit of a surprise. Why him? He's never pitched above short-season Staten Island.