TAMPA — Had Billy McKinney not been taken by the A’s with the 24th pick in the first round of the 2013 draft, the Yankees were poised to take the left-handed-hitting outfielder from Plano West Senior High School in Texas.
With McKinney gone, the Yankees used the 26th pick to select Notre Dame third baseman Eric Jagielo. He was part of the deal with the Reds that landed Aroldis Chapman. McKinney came to the Yankees in July, when the Yankees sent Chapman to the Cubs in a trade that was highlighted by shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres.
McKinney, 22, wasn’t originally invited to big league camp, but when Mason Williams and Tyler Austin were injured, McKinney was summoned.