Former Yankees Star Selected in Baseball United Draft

The New York Yankees had several former players selected in the first Baseball United Draft on Monday.

The Draft was meant to fill out the four teams that will compete in the new league in Dubai. Those teams are called the Cobras, the Monarchs, the Wolves and the Falcons.

Five different Yankees were picked for the league, which features Hall-of-Fame Yankees closer Mariano Rivera as a board member and co-owner.

The biggest former Yankees star drafted was former infielder Robinson Canó, who broke in with the Yankees in 2005 and played his first nine season with the Yankees before leaving for the Seattle Mariners in free agency.

With the Yankees he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2005, was selected to five All-Star teams, won five Silver Slugger awards and two Gold Gloves. He batted .309 with 204 home runs and 822 RBI for the Yankees.

For his 17-year career — which include time with the New York Mets, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves, he batted .301 with 335 home runs and 1,306 RBI.

Also selected was Didi Gregorius, who played five seasons for the Yankees and batted .269 with 97 home runs and 360 RBI. He broke into the Majors with Cincinnati and also played with Arizona and Philadelphia.

Pitcher Bartolo Colón, now 50 years old, was selected. He won 247 games in his 21-year career, but he only pitched one season for the Yankees. In 2011 he went 8-10 with a 4.00 ERA.

Also selected was David Huff, who pitched for the Yankees in 2013-14, and Brandon Laird, who played 11 games with the Yankees in 2011.

Baseball United is the first professional baseball league based in the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. The league will host a showcase event in Dubai on Nov. 24-25 with two Baseball United All-Star teams playing a two-game series.

Baseball United has some Major League heft behind it. Former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, former Cincinnati Reds infielder Barry Larkin and former Texas Rangers third baseman Adrián Beltré are each co-owner and board members. Former Seattle pitcher Félix Hernández is also a board member.