JUPITER, Fla. — During pregame batting practice at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Monday, Derek Dietrich sauntered to the backstop behind home plate, reaching below the netting to sign autographs for a group of fans.
Beyond the Yankees cap sitting low on Dietrich’s head, the scene was a spitting image of what spring training patrons in Jupiter witnessed from the early-to-late 2010s.
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Dietrich spent six springs at Marlins camp at the beginning of his playing career. He’s 34 now, but still as jacked as ever — muscles popping out of a tight athletic T-shirt — with a thick chain gleaming in the South Florida dusk.
This is a different Dietrich, though. Almost two years after serving a 50-game suspension from Major League Baseball, testing positive for a banned substance — a knockout punch of sorts to the utilityman’s pursuit of a return to the big leagues — Dietrich is now an advisor to the Yankees’ player development system.
“My unique position is culture and accountability coordinator,” Dietrich told NJ Advance Media on Monday. “We have very skilled experts in every part of this organization. I’m just trying to help bridge the gap with our players, whether through communication or through on-field and off-field experience.”
With over six years of MLB service time beginning in 2013, Dietrich has a breadth of experience to share. He played in 1,343 games if you factor in parts of a decade in the minor leagues.
The plan is for Dietrich to work in the cage with hitters, facilitate growth on defense with his positional versatility from his playing days and utilize a passion for weight training and sports performance to help players put their body in a better place to succeed physically.
Dietrich will be in the Bronx at times during the season, traveling to different Yankees affiliates while spending time at the player development complex in Tampa. His two seasons within the Yankees’ minor-league system as a player give Dietrich a strong understanding of how the organization operates. He’s developed a firsthand perspective of how the game has changed — from old-school philosophies to modern analytics.
As his new title states, Dietrich is focused on his own accountability. He called his suspension a “blessing in disguise,” a grave error that others can learn from.
“I took a pre-workout supplement that caused a stimulant that was detected,” Dietrich said. “I want to make it clear that this was not performance-enhancing by any means. It was just stimulant. But nonetheless, it was a mistake.
“I’d rather be the guy that makes the mistake so I can now tell our guys, ‘Hey, I worked out 15 years, I played the game 15 years, I never had an incident. But it can happen.’ Hopefully I can deliver that message now, where someone doesn’t make that same mistake.”
Fans latch on to the lefty’s reputation for pimping home runs and pumping bicep curls, but those within the Yankees’ organization see a valuable instructor and positive clubhouse presence.
One Yankees coordinator told NJ Advance Media over text on Monday that Dietrich has already demonstrated a knack for “clear and effective communication,” making him an “excellent hire.”
Shortstop Anthony Volpe started beaming when asked about Dietrich in the Yankees’ clubhouse during Monday’s 3-2 win over the Marlins.
Those two had a preexisting relationship from Dietrich’s short stint with Double-A Somerset in 2022. Once Volpe got called up to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre later that year, Dietrich had already been suspended, so he was out of commission. Still, Volpe recalled how that didn’t stop the veteran from staying present with his teammates. Rather than tuning out and doing his own thing, Dietrich was a resource for everyone, taking players out to dinner and teaching them lessons of what to expect in the big leagues.
“I think that foreshadowed what he’s been able to do now in this new position,” Volpe said. “He’s a big reason why guys on those teams had a lot of success. I mean, he was in Somerset for two weeks and made such an impact. Then in Triple-A, he was the life of the clubhouse even though he wasn’t able to play. He was still working as hard as anybody.”
As Volpe put it, there’s a “1,000 percent” chance that Dietrich thrives in this new role.
Dietrich insisted that the Yankees have everything they need to win the World Series this year. “No question about it,” he added with a smile. After not coming close to a championship — let alone the postseason — as a player, Dietrich’s No. 1 goal is still to win a ring.
That’s in line with his message to fans. Dietrich isn’t competing for a roster spot anymore, but he still loves the game and has a lot to give back, striving to make the most of this new opportunity.
“I don’t consider myself retired,” Dietrich said. “I just feel like I switched positions. I’m still on the field, just have a new position. I’m enjoying my life every single day. I’m eager. I’m hungry. I can’t wait to get up and get to the complex, get out on the field with the guys and serve them. … Winning a World Series is what New York Yankees fans deserve and I feel like I came on board at the right time because we’ve got special things happening here with this roster. It’s gonna be a good year.”
