I had the opportunity to catch up on Yankees right-handed pitching prospect Carson Coleman earlier today after a brief appearance in Tampa, FL on rehab.
To catch things up, Coleman was signed as a free agent during the pandemic in June 2020, and didn’t debut until May 5, 2021 with Low-A Tampa. He spent the full season there, struggling throughout, ending the 2021 season with an ERA of 6.11.
Coleman turned heads the following season after posting a 0.47 ERA in 19-1/3 innings with High-A Hudson Valley, then a 2.86 ERA with AA Somerset. He missed the 2023 season after having Tommy John surgery, then was selected by the Texas Rangers on December 6, 2023 during the Major League portion of the Rule 5 draft. Coleman told me, “It was great. I mean, I got to have the opportunity to be around a big league club. Obviously, injuries didn’t go the way I would like, but that was awesome. I mean, it was a great experience. Texas was an amazing organization, and I was thankful for the opportunity, but happy to be back with the Yankees too.
Coleman then missed all of 2024 with a right shoulder surgery via his MiLB profile, which Coleman said was a nerve transposition surgery, but that is actually a surgery that’s typically done in the elbow. It involves surgically relocating the ulnar nerve from a position where it’s compressed, typically behind the elbow, as a result of cubital tunnel syndrome.
Coleman noted that he was happy to be back in Tampa, where the Yankees have been “very welcoming”. He added that, “when you come back to a place [the Yankees] that loves and respects you, and, you know, looks at you in a good way. It’s nice to be back”
After missing two years due to injury, Coleman has thrown four perfect innings on rehab assignment, split evenly between Rookie-level Florida Complex League and Low-A Tampa. Coleman added, “I feel good getting back to it. It’s been nice to finally get back on a game mound for the first time in a long time.” Today, Coleman threw a mix of a sinker and a curveball, hitting 97 on the sinker while sitting in the upper 70s with the curveball.
Coleman noted that the mound at “The Tank”, the field that the Tarpons are playing on this year, is similar to that of the main field at Steinbrenner Field. He noted that, “It’s always fun, especially having [Aaron] Bossi as a manager. One of my coaches in, uh, in Somerset. Bossi’s the man, so it’s always good to pitch for him.” Bossi was previously the Defensive & Baserunning Coach for Somerset.
Coleman was unsure what the next steps were, but said he expected to be going up to Hudson Valley in the next week or two to continue the rehab.
If he continues pitching how he did today, and has so far while on rehab assignment, he could very well be in line for a late-in-the-season call-up.
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