The Lexington Legends have re-signed former New York Yankee farmhand Harold Cortijo and New York native Austin Bates for the upcoming 2025 independent Atlantic League season, yesterday the team announced on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Cortijo, a 26-year-old San Juan, Puerto Rican native, is a relief pitcher who posted a 2-1 record with 4.18 ERA in 28.0 innings of work in six games with the Legends last season.
The Yankees selected Cortijo in the 14th round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Md. He spilt parts of six seasons in New York’s minor league system.
Bates, 26, spilt last year with the Glacier Range Riders of the Pioneer League and Lexington.
Bates, a centerfielder from Ossining, N.Y., hit two home runs and drove in 17 RBI in 127 at-bats in 39 contests between the two teams in 2024.
Bates played three years at Georgia Gwinnett College National Athletic Intercollegiate Association (NAIA), slugging a .382 average with four longballs. 109 RBI and .488 OBP.
Before Georgia Gwinnett, he earned the Southern Conference Player of the Year award at Eastern Florida State College.
In true championship form, Bates attended Chipola College (Florida), where the team captured the Junior College (JUCO) 2018 national baseball title.
Additionally, in high school, he helped lead IMG Academy (Florida) to a national championship and was named the Player of the Year at the school.
Lexington opens up the season on Friday, April 25th at 8:00 p.m. against the Charleston Dirty Birds.
— Jerry Del Priore
NY NJ Sports World/Brooklyn Sports World 