The New York Yankees cut outfield prospect Jake Sanford last week following allegations he stole from teammates and allegedly scammed fans out of memorabilia.
According to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com, Sanford would hound teammates for equipment so he could sell online and would even go as far as stealing it from their lockers.
“He was scamming other players,” a source told Kuty.
In addition to stealing from his teammates, Sanford was also accused by fans for defrauding them — taking their money for autographed equipment in advance but never sending the items to said fan.
Per Kuty, the Yankees had been investigating the allegations against Sanford for weeks before finally parting ways with the 24-year-old. General manager Brian Cashman declined to comment when reached by NJ.com.
Sanford, a third-round pick in 2019 out of Western Kentucky, also deactivated his social media account this week when the allegations from fans began surfacing.
Tampa native Shane Ronan, a part-time cook at George M. Steinbrenner Field, claimed he bid $75 for a pair of signed baseball gloves from Sanford and was put in touch with the prospect.
Ronan said they agreed to meet on multiple occasions before he was eventually ghosted.
“He got a bit nasty with me about it,” he told Kuty.
Matt Shea, an Illinois native, wrote in a Facebook memorabilia group that he was scammed out of $600 form Sanford and had been waiting 2.5 months for his purchase. Shea declined comment to NJ Advance Media.
Meanwhile, Sanford has signed with the Ottawa Titans of the Frontier League.
The former prospect split time between Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley last season, hitting .285 with 16 home runs and 61 RBI. He was highly regarded by scouts for his power.
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