The New York Yankees are off to a decent start, sitting in the middle of the AL East. The start to the season could have been rougher in the Bronx had it not been for some heroics by an early season pick-up — Franchy Cordero.
The New York Yankees signed who?
Franchy Cordero has had a journeyman’s course through MLB. Cordero signed with the San Diego Padres as an international free agent in November 2011. After years in the minors, he made it to the show with San Diego in 2017. After just 250 at-bats in three years, he found himself in Kansas City for 16 games.
After his brief stop in Kansas City, he made it to the East Coast with the Boston Red Sox. Two seasons as a role player off the bench, Cordero had 370 at-bats with just nine home runs, barely hitting .200. He signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles before spring training. Still, he was released just before the 2023 season, never suiting up for the Orioles.
Then the call came from the prestigious New York Yankees with a split $1 million major/ $180,000 minor league contract. He got his first start with the Yankees against the Philadelphia Phillies, where he made a beautifully executed play in right field, throwing out Darick Hall on what should have been a well-hit double.
Watch this heads-up play. It’s great baseball.
Franchy on the money 🎯 pic.twitter.com/XMoHHMIlrI
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 5, 2023
The Baltimore revenge
Cordero made the Orioles pay for letting him go by hitting a pair of home runs and logging five RBI in two games, but he was just getting started. Then, on April 7, against the team that never gave him a chance, he belted this homer at Camden Yards.
Franchy Fried 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QMThwm8y0B
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 7, 2023
Cordero is having a moment in the Bronx, N.Y., logging a 169 wRC+ and 0.4 bWAR. Yankees fans are praising Brian Cashman now for this bargain bin find as Cordero looks to be 2023’s version of Matt Carpenter.