The New York Yankees designated right-hander Cade Winquest for assignment on Friday without him ever pitching in a major league game. The 25-year-old, selected from the St. Louis Cardinals in the Rule 5 Draft last December, had made the Opening Day roster. The move cleared a spot to activate Luis Gil for a start against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Cade Winquest received the call-up to the Yankees' Opening Day roster, walking into Oracle Park in San Francisco on March 25 for the season opener against the Giants. With family and his girlfriend in the stands, he watched that series, followed by games in Seattle and six more in the Bronx, but never entered a game. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said, “It didn’t work out the way that we wanted. He’s really talented. We like the process that we went through when we selected him. It would’ve been nice to be able to find room to get him into a game. It’s hard when you’re trying to compete and develop at the same time.” Manager Aaron Boone added that Winquest was close to pitching after a win in Seattle, saying, “This was hard for me, because I didn’t want him to not get into a game.” Winquest posted a 7.20 ERA over 10 spring training innings, behind other relievers like Kelvin Castro and Yerry de los Santos. As the Yankees' first Rule 5 selection since 2011, he joins a rare group of players who made the roster but never appeared, such as Daniel Camarena in 2019. Under Rule 5 rules, Winquest must remain on a major league roster all season or be offered back to the Cardinals if he clears waivers. The Yankees promoted Luis Gil from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as the corresponding move. Gil, the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings in his one minor league start this season.