How group texts and avocado shakes supercharged the Yankees’ pitching prospects

How group texts and avocado shakes supercharged the Yankees’ pitching prospects

It was Friday the 13th, some around the Yankees noted, when general manager Brian Cashman called what was about to become both dangerous and passé: an in-person meeting.

Much of the coaching staff met on a backfield at the Yankees’ facility in Tampa on March 13, 2020, a day after spring training was postponed because COVID-19 was making its way around the United States.

“Oh, this is bad,” flashed through the mind of Daniel Moskos, who recently had been hired to become the organization’s Low-A Charleston pitching coach, a job that would never begin. He was right.

Everyone was to quarantine for two weeks, the Yankees general manager said, and then was free to go home. The major league season was going to be prioritized. It became apparent that the minor league season likely would never even get started.