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
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