When former CPBL player Manny Banuelos reached the mound at Yankee Stadium on Friday, many years after that dream seemed to have famously escaped him, catcher Jose Trevino offered a simple message.
“Hey man, welcome home,” Trevino recalled saying. “This is where you’re supposed to be. This is where you are right now. Enjoy it.”
Formerly a touted New York Yankees prospect, Banuelos finally got the chance to pitch in pinstripes 14 years after he first joined the organization and seven years after he was traded away.
Photo: AFP
Following stops in Mexico and Taiwan, the 31-year-old left-hander pitched in the majors for the first time since 2019, throwing two innings in relief of Gerrit Cole in the Yankees’ 13-0 win over the Detroit Tigers.
“This is amazing,” Banuelos said. “This is huge for me. I’ve been waiting for this a long time.”
New York signed the talented Mexican pitcher weeks after his 17th birthday in 2008, and the weighty hopes of Yankee Universe quickly fell on his shoulders.
He represented New York at the 2009 All-Star Futures Game and ranked highly on lists of promising minor leaguers.
In 2011, closer Mariano Rivera declared Banuelos to be the best pitching prospect he had ever seen.
However, Banuelos tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow, prompting Tommy John surgery that cost him nearly two full seasons.
He never got past Triple-A with the Yankees, who traded him to the Atlanta Braves in 2015.
He reached the majors that year with the Braves, but was injured and ineffective.
After three more seasons at Triple-A, he pitched 16 games for the Chicago White Sox in 2019 and floundered again.
Cast out of affiliated ball, he spent the past two summers with the New Taipei City-based Fubon Guardians in the CPBL and played winter ball in Mexico.
He also represented his home country at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
The goal was always to get back to the majors, and it was an easy choice to rejoin the Yankees this spring on a minor-league deal when the chance arose.
Finally healthy, he turned heads in spring training, then dominated while playing for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Injuries opened a spot in the bullpen and New York promoted Banuelos on Thursday last week.
“I grew up as a Yankee fan,” he said. “When they gave me the opportunity to be here, it was great for me. I was very sad when I left, and then, too, you know, I’m very grateful with the team, with the organization, to give me that chance to come back.”
His arrival has coincided with a dominant stretch by New York’s rotation, leaving little for the bullpen to do, but Banuelos saw his chance coming on Friday.
By the fifth inning, the Yankees had a massive lead and Cole was working on a perfect game.
If and when Cole’s bid ended, Banuelos figured the remaining mop-up work would be his.
Cole gave up two hits in the seventh, and the next inning manager Aaron Boone summoned Banuelos.
He stopped behind the mound to soak in the moment.
“I’ve been with a lot of different teams,” he said. “I’ve pitched in different countries. It was a great moment. I wanted to enjoy that moment before I started pitching. And I just said, thank God.”
He allowed a hit and struck out one while closing out a combined three-hitter with Cole, who ranked two spots ahead of him on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects list in 2012 — Cole was 11th and Banuelos 13th.
“That was the coolest part of the night,” Cole said.
“To pitch here in Yankee Stadium in this uniform, this is amazing,” Banuelos said. “I don’t know if somebody had this history, but I don’t think so. Because, you know, I think everybody knows about me, about what happened 10-12 years ago. I’ve said before, it’s been a long journey to make this goal.”
In other games on Friday, it was:
‧ Athletics 2, Red Sox 7
‧ Blue Jays 3, Twins 9
‧ Brewers 0, Padres 7
‧ Cubs 5, Cardinals 14
‧ Dodgers 6, Mets 1
‧ Marlins 6, Giants 15
‧ Orioles 3, Guardians 6
‧ Phillies 10, Angels 0
‧ Pirates 6, Diamondbacks 8
‧ Rangers 3, Mariners 4
‧ Rays 6, White Sox 3
‧ Reds 5, Nationals 8
‧ Rockies 1, Braves 3 (10)
‧ Royals 3, Astros 10
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
The Golden State Warriors on Wednesday withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading Thunder 116-109. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Golden State erased a double-digit deficit and pulled away late for the victory. “We just stayed solid,” said Curry, who entered the contest mired in a shooting slump and had just four points on one basket in the first half. “Just all-around effort.” The Thunder, fueled by 31 first-half points from Gilgeous-Alexander, led by as many as 14 in the
Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs. With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner. Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an
RSS