LAS VEGAS — The New York Yankees fired longtime international scouting director Donny Rowland earlier this offseason, three major-league sources confirmed to The Athletic. The sources, who were granted anonymity in order to speak freely, each pointed to the franchise’s recent poor track record of turning big-money signings into impact major leaguers as a likely major contributing factor in the dismissal.
Rowland, 62, spent 15 years in the role and 23 years overall in the Yankees organization. Rowland and general manager Brian Cashman did not respond to messages from The Athletic seeking comment. Francys Romero, a sports reporter who focuses on Cuban baseball players, first reported the move.
The team is still in the process of selecting Rowland’s successor, the sources said.
“His contract had expired,” Cashman said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon at the GM meetings. “Just like anything else, you’ve got to make some very difficult decisions. I’ve been involved with Donny Rowland for a long time. … But, fork in the road, contract had expired and I made the difficult decision to look for a different lead voice in that chair.”
“We’re now starting to gather some names, and eventually we’ll get to an interview process and land on someone new to lead that department.”
Although plenty of international prospects across the sport who received six- or seven-figure dollar bonuses don’t pan out, the Yankees have seen most of theirs bust over the past decade-plus, Luis Severino and Miguel Andujar notwithstanding. Several still in their system have underperformed expectations.
In 2019, the Yankees gave outfielder Jasson Domínguez a club-record $5.1 million signing bonus. This year, he started as the team’s primary left fielder as a rookie, but became a part-time player late in the season. He finished with a .257 batting average, 10 home runs, 47 RBIs, 23 steals and a .719 OPS in 123 games. Where he fits in the Yankees’ plans for 2026 remains unclear.
Domínguez, 22, may turn out to be the Yankees’ best big-money-bonus success story in a while. Others either appear to have outlooks that are less rosy or have simply stalled out.
Jasson Domínguez began his rookie season as the team’s primary left fielder but ended it as a part-time player. (Al Bello / Getty Images)
In August, the Yankees cut ties with one of their bigger bonus bets, releasing shortstop Alexander Vargas. They gave the Cuban native $2.5 million, the biggest bonus in their 2019 international class. At 23, Vargas started this season at High A and hit just .227 with one homer and a .633 OPS in 42 games at Double A before being released in August. The Cincinnati Reds picked him up, and he posted a .617 OPS in 18 games for them at High A.
Outfielder Brando Mayea ($4.35 million, 2023) spent his third season in rookie ball at age 20 this year. Shortstop Roderick Arias ($4 million, 2022) posted a .640 OPS over 103 games in his first season in Low A at age 20. Shortstop Mani Cedeno ($2.5 million, 2025) hit .183 and struck out 76 times in 164 at-bats in the Dominican Summer League, though he was 16 for most of the season.
Hans Montero signed as a shortstop for $1.7 million in 2021. Of 89 games the 21-year-old played at Low A this season, 34 were at first base and none were at shortstop. Outfielder Raimfer Salinas ($1.85 million, 2017) played just 65 games at Low A with the organization. Salinas was suspended 80 games in 2023 after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. The Yankees released him that season and he hasn’t played since.
In 2014, the Yankees gave seven-figure bonuses to seven players: Dérmis Garcia ($3 million), Nelson Gomez ($2.25 million), Juan De Leon ($2 million), Jonathan Amundaray ($1.5 million), Wilkerman Garcia ($1.3 million), Miguel Flames (1.1 million) and Hoy Park ($1 million). Only two — Dérmis Garcia and Park — reached the majors, playing a combined 107 games.
