At long last, the New York Yankees have finally added a veteran arm to their injury-decimated pitching staff.
Veteran left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, who most recently pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays, joined the Yankees on Monday. As of publication, the team had not disclosed if Yarbrough signed a minor-league deal or if he'll join the big-league club for Thursday's opener.
The 33-year-old Yarbrough went 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA over 6.2 spring innings for the Blue Jays. Yarbrough opted out of his minor-league deal last weekend.
Yarbrough and the Yankees are certainly well acquainted after his five seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. The newest Bomber owns a 2.04 ERA over 57.1 innings against the Yankees since debuting in 2018.
Yarbrough turned heads during his rookie year, finishing 16-6 with a 3.91 ERA in 38 games and six starts. Rays manager Kevin Cash typically used Yarbrough to eat innings after an "opener" recorded the first few outs.
Yarbrough added 11 wins over 28 games (14 starts) in his sophomore year. However, he battled inconsistency the next few years and left Tampa following 2022.
The 2014 fourth-round pick has bounced around since, though he's typically caught contenders' eyes. Yarbrough went 13-9 with a 3.82 ERA across 69 games for the Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, and Los Angeles Dodgers over the last two years.
Yarbrough thrived during his brief Blue Jays stint last summer, recording a 2.01 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 31.1 innings. Now, he'll have another opportunity to continue frustrating AL East opponents.
