The New York Yankees have parted ways with outfielder Kenedy Corona, as he has elected free agency, according to the official MiLB transaction log.
The 26-year-old Venezuelan spent the 2026 campaign in the New York Yankees system after signing a minor-league contract with the club on December 24, 2025.
Corona, who bats and throws right-handed, produced a solid overall line in 2026 of .255/.349/.776 with 12 home runs, 53 RBI and 23 stolen bases across 314 at-bats.
He split time between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, showing improved on-base skills and power relative to his more modest production the prior year in Houston’s system.
Defensively, he continued to draw praise as a capable center fielder with prior experience across the outfield; he previously earned a Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove in 2023 while with the Astros’ Double-A affiliate.
The move ends Corona’s brief affiliation with the Yankees. He arrived in the organization after electing free agency from the Houston Astros in early November 2025 following an outright assignment.
Houston had given him a brief major-league look that July—three games, two at-bats, two walks—but ultimately removed him from the 40-man roster.
With New York, he remained organizational depth and did not appear in the majors during 2026.
Corona’s career path began as an international signing with the Mets in 2019 before he was traded to Houston that December as part of the Jake Marisnick deal.
He has long been valued more for his glove and baserunning than for impact bat speed, though the 2026 numbers represent a modest rebound after a down season at Triple-A Sugar Land in 2025.
As a minor-league free agent, Corona is now free to sign with any organization.
At 26, with two minor-league options remaining and a track record of strong outfield defense, he profiles as a low-cost depth piece for clubs seeking Triple-A outfield insurance or a potential emergency call-up who can cover center field.
Whether he returns to the Yankees or lands elsewhere will depend on the depth of the free-agent market and teams’ evaluations of his offensive upside versus his established defensive reliability.
The early-offseason transaction is one of many minor-league free-agency elections logged around the close of the affiliated season, a routine process that opens the market for players not retained on big-league or reserved minor-league contracts.
