Suffice to say, Ryan Yarbrough hopes to earn his second World Series ring the real way: by playing in it.
Yarbrough, the New York Yankees’ fifth starter, will be awarded his first World Series ring by the Los Angeles Dodgers during the teams’ rematch this weekend despite last pitching for the 2024 champions in July and ending the season with the Toronto Blue Jays. He told The Athletic in a story published Thursday that he only watched “for a little bit,” an activity he called “a little strange.”
“Only from the fact that I was with those guys and I was happy for them from being a part of that team and everything we had done,” Yarbrough said. “But it was also a little bittersweet since I got moved away at the deadline. So it was a little strange that way. But just being with those guys earlier in the year, you play with those guys and you know how hard they work.”
The left-handed pitcher logged innings for the Dodgers across 2023 and 2024, when he made 32 appearances, all out of the bullpen. With the Dodgers, he posted a 3.74 ERA in 67 1/3 innings and was traded July 30 to Toronto.
“It was just weird being a part of it, and then watching them going through all of that from the outside looking in,” he said. “It’s tough how to gauge all of that.”
The Yankees signed Yarbrough as a free agent in late March after he was released by the Toronto Blue Jays. Initially seen as a depth arm in the bullpen, Yarbrough has been a revelation in the rotation after filling in following several injuries. In four starts, he has a 2.25 ERA in 20 innings, with 19 strikeouts.
He’ll face his old team this weekend on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.”
