Tampa Tarpons

Last updated

Tampa Tarpons
TampaTarponsLogo2018.png Tampa Tarpons cap.png
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class Single-A (2021–present)
Previous classes Class A-Advanced (1994–2020)
League Florida State League (1994–present)
Division West Division
Major league affiliations
Team New York Yankees (1994–present)
Minor league titles
League titles (5)
  • 1994
  • 2001
  • 2004
  • 2009
  • 2010
Division titles (7)
  • 1994
  • 2001
  • 2004
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2016
  • 2021
Team data
NameTampa Tarpons (2018–present)
Previous names
Tampa Yankees (1994–2017)
ColorsLegends navy, Tarpon silver, Gulf blue, white [1]
    
Mascot King Ripple
Ballpark George M. Steinbrenner Field (1996–present)
Community Field (2025–present)
Previous parks
Red McEwen Field (1994–1995)
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
New York Yankees
General manager Jeremy Ventura [2]
Manager Aaron Bossi [3]
Website milb.com/tampa

The Tampa Tarpons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League (FSL) and the Single-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. Located in Tampa, Florida, they play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Spring Training home of the New York Yankees that incorporates design elements from old Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, including identical field dimensions. In 2025, they played home games at an adjacent practice field, Community Field at GMS Field. The Tarpons franchise competed at Class A-Advanced level from 1994 to 2020 before being reclassified to Single-A in 2021. Since their inception, the club has won five league championships, in 1994, 2001, 2004, 2009, and 2010.

Contents

The club was established in 1994 as the Tampa Yankees and played for 24 seasons under that name. Before the 2018 season, the team was rebranded as the "Tampa Tarpons", reviving a name that had been used by an earlier franchise in the FSL for over 30 years. [4]

History

The team is named for the Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) Megalops atlanticus.jpg
The team is named for the Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus)

Tampa has a long history of amateur and professional baseball. The city was one of the first to host spring training in 1913, and the Tampa Smokers were charter members of the FSL when it was established in 1919. The original Tampa Tarpons played at Al Lopez Field from 1954 through 1988, mainly as an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The club relocated in 1989 and their ballpark was demolished soon thereafter in anticipation of Tampa being awarded a major league expansion team. However, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were instead awarded to nearby St. Petersburg, leaving Tampa without a professional baseball team or venue. [5]

In 1994, the New York Yankees established a new Class A-Advanced (renamed High-A in 2021) FSL team and placed them in Tampa, replacing their previous Class-A Advanced affiliate, the Prince William Cannons. After operating as the Tampa Yankees for 24 seasons, the club was rebranded as the Tampa Tarpons in 2018, reviving the name of Tampa's longest-lasting minor league ballclub. [6] For the 2021 season, the FSL was reconfigured as a Low-A circuit, and the Florida State League name was retired, with the circuit being called the Low-A Southeast. [7] [8] In 2022, the Low-A Southeast became known as the Florida State League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization, and was reclassified as a Single-A circuit. [9]

On January 9, 2022, the Yankees announced that Rachel Balkovec has been hired to manage the Tarpons. She is the first woman to manage a minor league team affiliated with Major League Baseball. [10]

Notable major league players to once play for the Tampa Yankees / Tarpons include Aaron Judge, Derek Jeter, Rubén Rivera, Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes, Ramiro Mendoza, Tim Raines, Eric Milton, and Luis Sojo.

Ballpark

As part of a deal with the city of Tampa, the Tampa Sports Authority agreed to publicly finance a new ballpark for the New York Yankees to use during spring training and the Tampa Yankees to use during the summer. Legends Field has the same dimensions as Yankee Stadium and includes some design elements of the previous ballpark in the Bronx. The Tampa Yankees played their first two seasons (1994 and 1995) at Red McEwen Field on the campus of the University of South Florida while their permanent home was under construction. In 1996, the New York Yankees held spring training at newly completed Legends Field, moving from their long-time spring facilities at Fort Lauderdale, and the Tampa Yankees played at the new ballpark that summer. In 2008, Legends Field was renamed in honor of ailing long-time Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who lived in Tampa.

Steinbrenner Field has a baseball capacity of about 11,000 and is located across Dale Mabry Highway from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' home of Raymond James Stadium. The facility has an adjacent parking lot that is sufficient for most minor league crowds, and a pedestrian bridge allows for spring training attendees to park at the football stadium's much larger parking area and safely cross the busy highway to Steinbrenner Field.

In 2025, the Tampa Bay Rays played at Steinbrenner Field due to damage to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton. As a result, the Tarpons played their home games at Community Field at GMS Field, a smaller practice field adjacent to Steinbrenner Field, with a capacity of 1,000. [11] [12]

Playoffs

Roster

PlayersCoaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 36 Cade Austin
  • 25 Tanner Bauman
  • 11 Tyler Boudreau
  • 19 Allen Facundo
  • 31 Jackson Fristoe
  • 16 Sean Hermann
  •  8 Franyer Herrera
  • 27 Gus Hughes
  • 45 Henry Lalane
  • 28 Justin Lange Injury icon 2.svg
  • 32 Sunayro Martina
  • 40 Jordarlin Mendoza
  • 28 Jose M. Rodgriguez
  • 54 Mariano Salomon
  • 21 Luis Serna
  • 43 Jack Sokol
  • 24 Josh Tiedemann
  • 20 Chris Veach
  • 12 Cole Zaffiro

Catchers

  • -- Johan Contreras ~
  • 44 Antonio Gomez Injury icon 2.svg
  • 18 Josue Gonzalez
  •  1 Ediel Rivera
  • 46 Juan Sanchez

Infielders

  •  7 Roderick Arias
  •  2 Austin Green
  •  6 Dax Kilby
  • 13 Jackson Lovich
  • 17 Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek
  • 10 Hans Montero
  • 25 Enmanuel Tejeda
  • 39 Kyle West Injury icon 2.svg

Outfielders

  •  5 Richie Bonomolo Jr.
  • 22 Eric Genther
  • 37 Willy Montero
  • 41 Wilson Rodriguez Injury icon 2.svg


Manager

  • 93 Aaron Bossi

Coaches

  •  9 Edwin Beard (hitting)
  • 34 Ryan Mossman (pitching)
  •  4 Josciel Veras (defensive)

60-day injured list

  • 17 J.T. Etheridge
  • 25 Danny Flatt
  • -- JoJo Jackson
  • -- Aaron Nixon (full season)
  • -- Wyatt Parliament (full season)
  • -- Yarison Ruiz
  • -- Adam Stone

Injury icon 2.svg 7-day injured list
* On New York Yankees 40-man roster
~ Development list
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporarily inactive list
Roster updated September 5, 2025
Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB    Florida State League
New York Yankees minor league players

Notable people

Note: Years indicate service time with the Tampa Yankees / Tarpons, either as a minor leaguer or on an injury rehabilitation assignment

Hall of Fame alumni
Notable alumni

References

  1. "Splash from the past". Minor League Baseball. December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  2. "Front Office". Minor League Baseball. 2025. Retrieved September 20, 2025.}
  3. "Yankees name Aaron Bossi as Tampa Tarpons' next Manager". Minor League Baseball. January 24, 2025. Retrieved September 20, 2025.}
  4. Norris, Josh. "Tampa Yankees Announce Name Change". Baseball America. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  5. "Tampa Tarpons sold, moving to Sarasota". St. Petersburg Times. November 19, 1988.
  6. Hill, Benjamin (December 11, 2017). "With Tarpons, Tampa throws back to the future". milb.com. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  7. Cooper, J.J. (November 10, 2020). "Binghamton, Brooklyn Survive As Mets Announce Affiliates". Baseball America. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  8. Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  9. "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  10. Anderson, R.J. (January 12, 2022). "Yankees' Rachel Balkovec introduced as first female minor-league manager: 'The negativity, it's hilarious'". CBSSports.com. CBS Sports. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  11. "Tampa Tarpons announce move to Community Field for 2025 Season". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  12. Diemert, Joshua (February 5, 2025). "Around the Empire: Yankees news - 2/5/25". Pinstripe Alley. Retrieved February 25, 2025.