There is an undetermined, but certainly lengthy, amount of time from now until the next baseball season, and the Yankees have plenty of decisions and transactions to make to fill out their roster.
But whenever they report to camp, they now likely will have one more unproven but enticing bat who could fit into a second base competition or maybe work his way into corner outfield depth.
On Monday, the Yankees ensured that Marco Luciano would not reach minor league free agency by adding the former star prospect to their 40-man roster after a breakthrough season — albeit in the minors — that served as a reminder of his pedigree.
Just a few years ago, Luciano was an untouchable Giants prospect with legendary power and bat speed — the type of can’t-miss prodigy who was sure to turn around the organization. In 2020, as an 18-year-old, Luciano went viral with a 119 mph home run. (For some context, last season Aaron Judge’s hardest-hit ball was struck at 116.2 mph.) Luciano peaked as the 13th-best prospect in the sport in 2022, according to MLB Pipeline.
