Yanks add Barbato, Davis, Gamel to 40-man
Three players protected from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft
NEW YORK -- The Yankees added three players to their 40-man roster on Friday, thus protecting right-handers Johnny Barbato and Rookie Davis and outfielder Ben Gamel from next month's Rule 5 Draft.
The Yankees also announced that right-hander Chase Whitley was claimed off waivers by the Rays.
Barbato, 23, split the 2015 season between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, combining to go 6-2 with three saves and a 2.67 ERA in 40 relief appearances. In 14 games for the RailRiders, he posted a 4-0 record, three saves and a 0.36 ERA.
Davis, 22, combined with Class A Advanced Tampa and Trenton to go 8-7 with a 3.86 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) in 2015, finishing second among Yankees Minor League pitchers in strikeouts (129).
Gamel, 23, spent the 2015 season at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .300 with 77 runs, 28 doubles, 14 triples, 10 homers, 64 RBIs, 46 walks and 13 steals in 129 games. He was named the 2015 International League "Rookie of the Year" after leading the league in triples and ranking second in slugging percentage (.472).
Davis and Gamel are ranked by MLBPipeline.com as the Yankees' No. 10 and No. 30 prospects, respectively.