Yankees Manage to Keep Marco Luciano in the Fold - Now Comes the Hard Part
The Yankees managed to pull off a bit of roster gymnastics this week, and in doing so, they may have given themselves a low-risk, high-upside lottery ticket in the form of 24-year-old infielder Marco Luciano. After a whirlwind offseason that saw Luciano bounce between four organizations, the Yankees finally did what the Giants, Pirates, and Orioles all failed to do: sneak him through waivers and keep him in the system.
Let’s rewind for a second. Luciano was once one of the most hyped prospects in baseball - a top-15 name on Baseball America’s list back in 2021, with a toolset that made scouts drool.
Big-time raw power, a cannon for an arm, and the kind of athleticism that had evaluators dreaming of a franchise shortstop. But as often happens with prospects, the development curve wasn’t linear.
Injuries, inconsistency, and a swing that never quite found its rhythm against right-handed pitching kept him from fulfilling that early promise.
Still, the talent hasn’t vanished. And the Yankees clearly think there’s something worth salvaging.
They first claimed Luciano off waivers on Jan. 22 after the Orioles tried to sneak him through. But just five days later, New York took a calculated risk of their own, designating him for assignment to make room for another intriguing flier: former Mets pitching prospect Dom Hamel. The hope was that Luciano, like a penny dropped in a fountain, would go unnoticed by the rest of the league and land safely in Triple-A.
It worked. On Tuesday, the Yankees officially outrighted Luciano to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
In the process, they lost outfielder Michael Siani - a glove-first, light-hitting speedster - to the Dodgers, the very team New York had claimed him from earlier in the offseason. But if you’re weighing upside, that’s a trade-off the Yankees will live with.
Luciano’s profile is still intriguing, especially against left-handed pitching. Last season at Triple-A, he posted a .282 average with a .986 OPS against southpaws - a sign that there’s still something in the bat, even if the overall numbers haven’t matched the early hype.
He’s not the five-tool phenom people once projected, but he doesn’t need to be. If he can become a serviceable utility infielder with some pop and positional flexibility, that’s a win for a team like the Yankees, who are always looking for depth with upside.
And let’s not forget - he’s still just 24. That’s younger than some players entering their first full season in pro ball. Time is still on his side, and now he’s in an organization known for squeezing value out of reclamation projects.
There’s no guarantee Luciano becomes anything more than a name on the Scranton roster. But there’s also no downside to keeping a player with his pedigree in the system, especially one who’s shown flashes of what made him so highly regarded in the first place. The Yankees didn’t have to give up anything to get him, and now they get to see - up close - if they can be the team that finally helps him put it all together.
For now, Luciano’s journey continues in Scranton. And if he starts hitting - especially against righties - don’t be surprised if he forces his way into the conversation in the Bronx later this year.