Report: Yankees Cut Jake Sanford for Allegedly Stealing, Selling Teammates' Equipment

Outfield prospect Jake Sanford's time with the New York Yankees organization is over after he reportedly stole from teammates and defrauded fans.

Brendan Kuty of NJ.com reported the Yankees cut Sanford last Thursday following allegations he stole bats and gloves from teammates and attempted to sell them online. He also apparently "repeatedly hounded teammates for their equipment."

Fans also said he accepted their money in advance for autographed equipment that he was not always able to provide.

Kuty noted Sanford deactivated his Twitter account when fans said he was defrauding them and that Major League Baseball officials were aware of the situation.

New York selected the Western Kentucky University product with a third-round pick in the 2019 MLB draft and gave him a $597,500 signing bonus.

He played last season with Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley and finished with a .285 batting average, .823 OPS, 16 home runs and 61 RBI. He was assigned to the Yankees' Florida Complex League at the start of the 2022 regular season.

Sanford has since signed with the Ottawa Titans of the Frontier League.

This comes as the Yankees have run into few problems at the major league level this season. They are off to a blistering 27-9 start and five games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East race.

New York is 8-1 in its last nine contests and faces the Baltimore Orioles in the third of a four-game set Wednesday.