Pitcher Cade Winquest's Yankees career could end without getting into a regular-season game

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Cade Winquest’s Yankees career could end without him getting into a regular-season game.

New York designated the 25-year-old right-hander for assignment Friday to open a roster spot for Luis Gil, who was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and is scheduled to start a series opener at the Tampa Bay Rays.

Winquest was selected from St. Louis during the Rule 5 draft at December’s winter meetings and became the Yankees’ first Rule 5 player to make the opening day roster since infielder Josh Phelps in 2007.

“It was hard because obviously we invested that pick in him over the winter, and we still believe that this guy’s got a chance to be a really good pitcher in this league,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Because of off days early in the season, Boone had rested higher-leverage relievers available.

“He’s really talented. We like the process we went through when we selected him,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “It would have been nice to find room to get him in games and develop. It’s hard when you’re trying to compete and develop at the same time. It just didn’t play out the way we wanted it to.”

If Winquest is placed on waivers and not claimed, he must be offered back to St. Louis for $50,000. If the Cardinals don’t take him back and he clears waivers, the Yankees could assign him outright to the minor leagues.

Anthony Volpe, recovering from left shoulder surgery on Oct. 14, could start a minor league rehabilitation assignment next week.

Cashman said he expects Volpe to return to his starting shortstop role.

“It’s always been the plan, but ultimately it’ll be the manager’s decision,” Cashman said.

Right-hander Clarke Schmidt threw off a mound Friday for the first time since Tommy John surgery last July 11. He threw 10 fastballs and said the next big step in his rehab will be facing hitters in June.

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New York Yankees pitcher Cade Winquest warms up before a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

New York Yankees pitcher Cade Winquest warms up before a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell will not play for the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night because of injuries that have dogged both throughout the series.

Williams has been dealing with a strained left hamstring for much of the playoffs. Mitchell has a strained right soleus.

Williams missed 49 of Oklahoma City's 82 regular-season games with wrist and hamstring issues, and Saturday will be the 10th playoff game he's missed this year with new hamstring problems. He played in five, including about 10 minutes in Thursday's Game 6 loss to the Spurs.

Mitchell had been the starter that replaces Williams in the lineup, until he too got hurt. Oklahoma City has been starting Jared McCain in that spot since, alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort and Chet Holmgren. They went to Cason Wallace as the starter for Game 7, with McCain off the bench.

The Spurs reported no injuries going into Game 7.

Marc Davis, John Goble and Josh Tiven were selected by the NBA as the referees for Game 7 of Spurs-Thunder. It's the second Game 7 in these playoffs for Davis and Tiven; Davis worked the final game of the Cleveland-Detroit series in Round 2, and Tiven had Game 7 of Orlando-Detroit in Round 1.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) defends against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) during overtime of Game 1 in a third-round NBA basketball playoffs series Monday, May 18, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)