NEW YORK – Baseball’s meandering path supplied an odd twist for Jeter Downs in 2022, when the shortstop named after a Corridor of Fame predecessor joined the Crimson Sox and picked up his first Main League hit, run, RBI and homer towards the Yankees.
Now, Downs has a possibility to put on pinstripes, simply as his namesake Derek Jeter did.
The Yankees introduced that they claimed Downs on waivers from the Nationals on Tuesday, a transfer that – together with their commerce for Alex Verdugo earlier this month – offers the Bombers two fundamental items from Boston’s February 2020 commerce of Mookie Betts to the Dodgers.
Although Downs doesn’t have a number of Main League expertise, he already has one thing of a historical past with the Yankees – past simply his title. The primary dwelling run of his profession got here within the Bronx, and he recorded his first massive league hit and RBI towards the Yanks within the tenth inning of a July 9 sport with the Crimson Sox. He then got here round to attain the profitable run on a knock by – guess who – Verdugo.
A shortstop, third baseman and second baseman, Downs appeared in six video games with Washington in 2023, going 2-for-5 (.400) with 4 runs scored, an RBI, 4 walks and two stolen bases. He was designated for project by the Nationals earlier this week.
The 25-year-old spent a lot of the season within the Minors, batting .222 (40-for-180) with three homers, 20 RBIs and 11 steals in 60 mixed video games this yr with Triple-A Rochester, the FCL Nationals and Excessive-A Wilmington.
Over components of two Main League seasons (2022-23) with the Crimson Sox (2022) and Nationals (2023), Downs has hit .182 (8-for-44) with a house run and 5 RBIs in 20 profession video games.
Born three years after Jeter’s massive league debut, Downs has stated that he was named after Jeter by his mom, though his father is a Crimson Sox fan. Downs stated that he grew up as a Yankees fan, and in Feb. 2020, he recounted his first assembly of kinds with the longtime captain.
“I used to be driving; me and my brother have been driving to go to coach,” Downs stated. “We’re in visitors. My brother sees this Vary Rover pulling up. He was like, ‘Oh my God, is that Jeter?’ He honks and I wave at him.
“I’m doing coaching with Raul Ibañez, [Jeter’s former teammate]. I known as Raul and stated, ‘Inform [Derek] Jeter that the child he was waving at was Jeter [Downs].’ So then he advised him that and it was fairly cool that I met him that approach.”
A few days later, Downs stated that he spoke with Jeter by way of FaceTime, related by means of a good friend who was attending a Marlins occasion at a TopGolf location.
“I’ve idolized him my entire life,” Downs stated. “It was lastly good to satisfy him and speak to him a little bit bit. It was positively particular.”
