Ryan Yarbrough, Yankees agree to one-year deal, source says
Yankees relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during a game at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 5. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Yankees, in the market this winter for relievers and a starting pitcher or two, filled both of those needs Monday, coming to terms on a one-year contract with lefty swingman Ryan Yarbrough on a one-year deal, a source said.
Yarbrough, mostly effective last season, first as a long man and then a fill-in starter for the Yankees before a second-half oblique injury derailed his year, went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA in 19 games, eight of those starts.
The Yankees signed the veteran just before the start of last regular season.
Yarbrough, who because of injuries was slotted into the rotation on May 3, posted a 3.83 ERA in his eight starts. The soft-tossing sidearmer allowed two earned runs or fewer in seven of those outings, his eight-run blowup over four innings on June 7 against Boston the lone outlier.
If the Yankees strike out the rest of the winter in the starter department — bringing back Yarbrough doesn’t change their pursuit of one — the lefthander likely would occupy the fifth starter spot to start the regular season.
That’s because, with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt all slated to start the year on the injured list, the rotation, as of now, comprises Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Luis Gil.
“We’ll be exploring how to protect ourselves so we’re not taking on water early because our rotation is compromised out of the gate,” Brian Cashman said during last week’s general managers meetings in Las Vegas (the GM, because of personal reasons, did not make the trip west and spoke to reporters via Zoom). “It’s an area for us to focus on.”
As is, Cashman said, the bullpen.
“We have some quality down that that we need to improve on,” Cashman said.
Earlier this month, the Yankees exercised a $3 million club option to bring back lefthander Tim Hill, an under-the-radar standout from last year’s bullpen, and Monday brought the re-signing of Yarbrough.
Other free agents from last year’s group are righties Paul Blackburn, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams.
Though Cashman said he will talk to Weaver and Williams about coming back, the likelihood is what those two pitchers are able to get on the open market will be more than what the Yankees are willing to spend.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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