Mets Sign Robert Stock, Nick Burdi To Minor League Deals
The Mets have agreed to minor league contracts with pitchers Robert Stock, Nick Burdi and Anderson Severino and with outfielder Jose Ramos, according to SNY. Mike Rodriguez reported the Severino agreement a couple weeks ago, while Burdi’s deal first appeared on the MLB.com transaction log. Stock has confirmed his signing on social media. All four players receive invitations to big league camp.
Burdi and Stock each spent the 2025 season in the Red Sox organization. They both got brief looks in Alex Cora’s bullpen. Burdi tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts and a pair of walks over four appearances. The 32-year-old has good stuff but has never been able to stay healthy. He missed a couple months with a foot injury this year and has previously had thoracic outlet syndrome, two Tommy John surgeries, appendicitis, and hip issues. Burdi has a career 3.05 ERA with a 31.3% strikeout rate in 76 2/3 Triple-A innings. He has pitched in parts of six MLB campaigns but has yet to reach even 10 big league innings in a season because of the injuries.
Stock, 36, made two appearances for the Sox this year. He walked four batters and gave up three runs over 2 2/3 innings. Stock has worked as a reliever in MLB but started 15 of 19 outings at Triple-A Worcester. He tossed 85 innings with a 3.92 ERA while punching out an above-average 26.2% of batters faced. Stock hasn’t found much MLB success since turning in a 2.50 ERA over 32 appearances as a rookie with the 2018 Padres. He still sits in the mid-90s with his fastball and has intrigued various teams as a depth signing. Stock previously spent time in the Mets’ system, starting four Triple-A games for the organization in 2021.
Severino is a 31-year-old lefty reliever who pitched six times for the White Sox in 2022. He has spent the past two seasons pitching in the Mexican League. Severino has tossed eight innings of two-run ball with 11 punchouts in the Dominican Winter League to get back to affiliated ball. Ramos, 25 in January, has never played in the majors. He spent seven seasons in the Dodgers’ system and combined for a .251/.326/.456 batting line between their top two minor league affiliates in 2025. The right-handed hitter changes organizations for the first time as a minor league free agent.
Nick Burdi Elects Free Agency
Right-hander Nick Burdi has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The reliever had been removed from the 40-man roster in July when he hit the 60-day IL with a hip injury. The Red Sox sent him outright to Triple-A Worcester in mid-August, and he was not added back to the 40-man roster before the end of the season. Since Burdi has more than three years of Major League service time, he was able to choose minor league free agency.
Burdi appeared in four games with the Red Sox in 2025. He tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings from late May into early June, but went down with a foot injury. Burdi then picked up the hip issue on his rehab assignment and was transferred to the 60-day IL. Masataka Yoshida took his spot on the 40-man roster when he returned from a shoulder injury.
Burdi has pitched for four teams in parts of six big-league seasons. He debuted with Pittsburgh in 2018. Burdi made 16 appearances across three seasons with the Pirates. He was designated for assignment following the 2020 season and landed with San Diego on a minor league deal. Burdi spent 2021 and 2022 in the Padres’ minor league system. He made his MLB return in 2023 with the Cubs after coming over in the offseason via waiver claim, though he made just three appearances in Chicago. Burdi headed to the Yankees on a minor league pact in 2024. His tenure in New York was his most successful as a big leaguer, as he posted a 1.86 ERA over 12 outings. Hip inflammation ultimately ended his season early.
Injuries have been the story of Burdi’s career. In addition to the aforementioned hip and foot injuries, he’s had Tommy John surgery twice (2017, 2020) and thoracic outlet surgery (2019). Burdi also missed a huge chunk of the 2023 season with appendicitis.
Burdi will be 33 next season. He’s been able to parlay minor league deals into big-league work in each of the past three seasons, so there’s a chance he can find his way onto an MLB roster in 2026.
Red Sox Outright Nick Burdi
Today: The Red Sox have sent Burdi outright to Triple-A Worcester, according to his MLB.com transaction tracker. Burdi can choose to reject the outright assignment and elect free agency instead, but it is not yet clear if he plans to do so.
August 11, 6:58PM: Burdi’s DFA and Moran’s selection were officially announced. The Red Sox also added recently-claimed catcher Ali Sanchez to the active roster, and optioned infielder David Hamilton and left-hander Chris Murphy to Triple-A.
August 11, 11:20AM: The Red Sox have designated right-hander Nick Burdi for assignment, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. In a corresponding move, Boston is set to select the contract of left-handed reliever Jovani Moran from Triple-A Worcester, Cotillo adds.
Burdi himself indirectly indicated on social media that a move had been made, tweeting: “Thank you Red Sox for letting me put on a big league uniform again. Will see what the next chapter brings!”
The 32-year-old Burdi pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings for the Sox earlier this season before heading to the injured list due to a foot injury that ultimately moved him to the 60-day IL. He was reinstated earlier this month but optioned to Worcester rather than added back to the active roster. Burdi has been excellent in Triple-A, logging a 1.88 ERA, 32.7% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate in 24 innings.
Despite that success both in limited MLB action and in the upper minors, he’ll now head to waivers within the next five days. That’s the only course of action for Boston now that the trade deadline has passed. Every other club will have the chance to claim Burdi, with waiver priority based on the reverse order of MLB-wide standings.
A former second-round pick (No. 46 overall by the Twins in 2014), Burdi was a standout closer at Louisville whose triple-digit heat made him a potential impact reliever in the majors. Injuries have repeatedly derailed his career, however. He’s had a pair of Tommy John surgeries and also undergone thoracic outlet surgery.
Burdi has made brief appearances in parts of six major league seasons but has only 30 1/3 MLB frames under his belt, during which he’s posted a 5.34 ERA. With so many injuries under his belt — plus the lost minor league season in 2020 — Burdi has only pitched 207 1/3 professional innings (majors/minors combined) since being drafted back in ’14. His fastball, which used to average better than 98 mph, is sitting 95.7 mph in Triple-A this season.
Burdi’s spot on the roster will go to another former Twin. Moran, 28, was acquired from Minnesota in the December swap that sent catcher/infielder Mickey Gasper to the Twin Cities. He missed the first two-plus months of the season while finishing off the rehab from Tommy John surgery but has pitched well since returning to the mound in June. Moran has pitched 18 1/3 Triple-A innings and delivered a solid 3.44 earned run average. More encouraging is a massive 35.1% strikeout rate against a tiny 4.1% walk rate.
Moran was excellent for the 2022 Twins, turning in a 2.21 ERA with a 32.9% strikeout rate in 40 2/3 innings — albeit with an ugly 11% walk rate. His numbers tanked in 2023, however, as Moran posted an ERA north of 5.00 and walked nearly 15% of his opponents in a nearly identical sample of innings before undergoing Tommy John surgery after the season.
At his best, Moran has regularly missed bats at high levels but also issued walks too frequently. He’s primarily a two-pitch reliever who sits 93-94 mph with his four-seamer and couples it with a changeup he throws nearly as often as the heater. If the Sox can get Moran back on track, he’d be controllable for another five seasons, though there’s a ways to go before that’s any sort of real consideration. He has one minor league option year remaining, and that option hasn’t been used so far in 2025, as Moran hasn’t been on the 40-man roster yet. If he’s sent back down for 20 or more days at any point from here on, he’d be out of options next season.
Red Sox Transfer Luis Guerrero To 60-Day IL, Reinstate Nick Burdi
The Red Sox announced some minor injury-related transactions today involving three right-handed relievers. Nick Burdi, who was on the 60-day IL with a foot contusion, has been reinstated and optioned to Triple-A Worcester. To make room on the 40-man roster, Luis Guerrero, who was on the 15-day IL with a sprained elbow, was transferred to the 60-day IL. In addition, Zack Kelly (oblique strain) has been reinstated from the 15-day IL and optioned to the minors.
Burdi, 32, was a second-round pick by the the Twins back in 2014 but didn’t make his big league debut until 2018 as a member of the Pirates. He struck out an impressive 38.3% of his opponents from 2018 to 2020, but did so in just 12 1/3 innings of work total as he was dogged by a series of elbow problems. He missed the entire 2021 season before re-emerging at the big league level with the Cubs in 2023, for whom he made just three appearances before he was sidelined once again due to appendicitis. He later pitched for the Yankees but battled hip issues before signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox this past season and having his contract selected in May. He’s spent most of his time as a member of the 40-man roster on the 60-day injured list due to a contusion of his right foot, however.
That laundry list of injury woes has left Burdi to total just 30 1/3 innings of work total for his career, which spans more than a decade in professional baseball and parts of six big league seasons. He’s struggled to a lackluster 5.34 ERA in that time as well, although it’s worth noting that his 31.2% strikeout rate and 3.84 FIP both indicate he’s pitched better than those lackluster results would imply. His strikeout rate is down to 23.1% in Boston this year, but he’s posted 5 1/3 scoreless innings across four appearances. He’ll head back to the minor leagues and serve as non-roster depth for the club going forward.
Making room for Burdi on the 40-man roster is Guerrero, a rookie who made his big league debut last year. He’s made 22 appearances while shuttling between Triple-A and the majors since then, and has generally pitched quite well with a 2.63 ERA and 3.49 FIP in 27 1/3 innings of work despite a lackluster 17.6% strikeout rate. Guerrero was shelved in late June due to an elbow sprain, but the injury appears to be serious enough that he’ll need to miss at least another month. He’ll now be ineligible to return to the majors until August 27 at the absolute earliest, but given the nature of elbow injuries it wouldn’t be a shock if Guerrero ends up being out for longer than that or even potentially not pitching again this year. No timeline for his return to action has been provided by the Red Sox at this point.
As for Kelly, the 30-year-old is in his fourth season as a member of the Boston relief corps. He’s struggled with his results this year, posting a 5.56 ERA in 22 2/3 innings of work, though a 3.63 FIP and 24.3% strikeout rate both offer at least some reason for optimism about his ability to turn things around now that he’s healthy and back to pitching. Of course, he’ll first need to prove himself at the Triple-A level given that the club’s middle relief mix is currently occupied by pieces like Jorge Alcala, Jordan Hicks, and the newly-acquired Steven Matz.
Red Sox Reinstate Masataka Yoshida, Transfer Nick Burdi To 60-Day IL
The Red Sox announced today that they have reinstated outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida from the 60-day injured list. To open an active roster spot, infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester. Right-hander Nick Burdi was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot.
Yoshida will be making his season debut in today’s game, serving as the designated hitter and batting sixth. He underwent shoulder surgery in October of last year and has been on the injured list until today. He was healthy enough to hit a long time ago but struggled to get his shoulder to a place where he could throw at full strength. That made him unable to play the field and essentially unrosterable. The Sox signed Alex Bregman in the winter and put him at third base, bumping Rafael Devers into the designated hitter spot on an everyday basis.
Much has changed since then. The DH move upset Devers and he was further rankled when Triston Casas got injured and the Sox asked him to learn first base. The relationship soured enough that the Sox flipped him to the Giants in a stunning deal.
That opened the DH spot, and Yoshida is now capable of playing the field, but the Sox still have quite a glut in the outfield. Today, Yoshida is in the DH spot with Roman Anthony in left, Jarren Duran in center and Wilyer Abreu in right. That leaves Ceddanne Rafaela on the bench, in addition to Rob Refsnyder. Yoshida has done some first base drills but isn’t considered much more than an emergency option there.
For now, manager Álex Cora will seemingly take turns benching guys from that mix, with Rafaela getting the first taste of that. Perhaps that can work for the short term but it’s an inelegant mix for the long term. Due to this cluster, there have been plenty of trade rumors surrounding players like Yoshida, Duran and Abreu, as observers speculate about the possibility of the Sox flipping one of them for some pitching.
Duran and Abreu are both strong players in their 20s, with Duran having three years of club control after this one and Abreu four. Yoshida, almost 32 years old, is seemingly less a key piece of the club’s future but his trade value wouldn’t be terribly high at the moment. He is making $18MM annually through the 2027 season. In his major league career, he’s been a poor fielder while his offense has been decent but not astounding. He currently sports a .285/.343/.433 batting line and 113 wRC+. As mentioned, he’s been on the IL all year until today.
Put it all together and it’s a tricky calculus for the Sox. Moving Yoshida is likely preferable for the long term but he would bring back less in a trade than some of their other players. With just a few weeks until the trade deadline, perhaps they will field some interesting calls from other clubs.
As for Burdi, he landed on the 15-day IL in early June due to a right foot contusion. He started a minor league rehab assignment a few weeks ago but only made two appearances. That was due to a hip issue, according to Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald. Injuries have been a persistent problem for Burdi. He has appeared in six different major league seasons, debuting back in 2018, but he has just 30 1/3 big league innings under his belt.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images
Red Sox Select Nick Burdi
The Red Sox announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Nick Burdi. Fellow righty Cooper Criswell has been optioned as the corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, righty Kutter Crawford has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Burdi, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the offseason. He has since been putting up some good numbers for Triple-A Worcester. Through 16 2/3 innings, he has only allowed one earned run, leading to a 0.54 ERA. He has struck out 38.5% of opponents while only giving out walks 7.7% of the time.
Throughout his career, the question has been more about health than talent. A former second-round pick of the Twins, he has twice had Tommy John surgery, once in 2017 and the second time in 2020. He also had a thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in between those two, in 2018.
He understandably didn’t pitch much from 2016 to 2022 but has been able to log some innings more recently. In 2023, he only pitched three big league frames but also got to 21 innings on the farm, with a 3.86 ERA and 35% strikeout rate. He also walked 15% of opponents that year, perhaps understandably rusty after so much missed time.
Last year, he pitched 9 2/3 major league innings for the Yankees with a 1.86 ERA as well as 17 Triple-A innings with a 2.65 ERA. At both levels, he had high strikeout totals but also a lot of walks. He missed time with a hip injury and was outrighted off the roster late in the season, which allowed the Red Sox to sign him.
It’s a small sample but Burdi’s start this year still features the same strikeout stuff but seemingly with better control. He’s averaging 96 miles per hour on his fastball while also throwing a slider and changeup. The Sox will add him as a fresh arm, at least for a few days. They only have a four-man rotation right now with Walker Buehler expected to be reinstated from the IL in the coming days, perhaps on Tuesday. Burdi has options, so it’s possible he’ll be sent down when Buehler is ready, depending on how things go between now and then. If he manages to stay healthy and post some big numbers in the majors, he can be retained beyond this season via arbitration if still on the 40-man roster.
As for Crawford, this doesn’t change anything with him. The 60-day count is retroactive to his initial placement on the 15-day IL. He landed there to start the campaign due to right patellar tendinopathy. He will be eligible for reinstatement in late May, but that doesn’t seem likely anyhow. He has been throwing lately but hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment. Even if cleared to start that assignment soon, he would surely need a few weeks to ramp up as a sort of delayed spring training.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images
Red Sox, Nick Burdi Agree To Minor League Deal
The Red Sox have reached agreement with reliever Nick Burdi on a minor league contract, reports Chris Henrique of Beyond the Monster. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo writes that the right-hander will go to minor league camp, as he did not receive a non-roster invite to MLB Spring Training.
Burdi, 32, is a former Twins’ second-round draftee and well-regarded bullpen prospect. His career has been beset by myriad injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery early in his time in the Minnesota farm system. He landed with the Pirates as a Rule 5 pick, where he battled thoracic outlet syndrome. Burdi’s arm continued to bother him the following year, and he underwent another Tommy John procedure after the 2020 campaign.
The Louisville product didn’t return to the mound until 2023. Burdi landed with the Cubs in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft. Chicago called him up for three appearances, but he quickly went back to the injured list due to a bout of appendicitis. He didn’t return to the majors and the Cubs cut him loose at the end of the season.
Burdi inked a minor league deal with the Yankees last winter. He broke camp but went on the injured list within a few weeks because of a right hip problem. Renewed hip pain sent him back to the IL between May and August. New York outrighted him one month later, sending him back to minor league free agency at the end of the season.
Despite the latest injury-plagued season, Burdi established a career high with 12 MLB appearances for the Yankees. He fired 9 2/3 frames of two-run ball. Burdi fanned 12 with nine walks. It was a similar story in Triple-A, where he turned in a 2.65 earned run average through 17 innings. He struck out a third of opponents against a huge 15.3% walk rate.
The raw stuff remains intriguing. Burdi averaged 97.5 MPH on his fastball while sitting in the upper 80s with his slider. He doesn’t consistently harness that high-octane arsenal, but that could be tied to the stop-and-start nature of so many of his seasons. There’s no real downside for the Red Sox in bringing him to camp and sending him to Triple-A Worcester to open the year.
34 Players Elect Free Agency
As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.
Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.
Catchers
- Alex Jackson (Rays)
- Andrew Knapp (Giants)
- Andrew Knizner (D-Backs)
- Reese McGuire (Red Sox)
- Jakson Reetz (Giants)
- Ali Sánchez (Marlins)
- Brian Serven (Blue Jays)
Infielders
- Diego Castillo (Twins)
- José Devers (Marlins)
- Thairo Estrada (Giants)
- Danny Mendick (White Sox)
- Cole Tucker (Angels)
- Jason Vosler (Mariners)
Outfielders
- Billy McKinney (Pirates)
- Cristian Pache (Marlins)
Designated Hitter
- Willie Calhoun (Angels)
Pitchers
- Phil Bickford (Yankees)
- Ty Blach (Rockies)
- Nick Burdi (Yankees)
- John Curtiss (Rockies)
- Kent Emanuel (Marlins)
- Cole Irvin (Twins)
- Casey Kelly (Reds)
- Matt Koch (Rockies)
- Steven Okert (Twins)
- Yohan Ramírez (Red Sox)
- Gerardo Reyes (A’s)
- Trevor Richards (Twins)
- Ryder Ryan (Pirates)
- Kirby Snead (Mariners)
- Touki Toussaint (White Sox)
- Tanner Tully (Yankees)
- Jordan Weems (Nationals)
- Mitch White (Brewers)
Yankees Outright Nick Burdi, Phil Bickford
The Yankees have outrighted relievers Nick Burdi and Phil Bickford, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Both right-handers were designated for assignment over the weekend when the Yanks reinstated Ian Hamilton and Clarke Schmidt from the 60-day injured list.
Burdi, 31, pitched 9 2/3 innings for the Yankees and allowed only two runs (1.86 ERA), but he also walked nine of his 45 opponents and plunked another pair. Put another way, he allowed 24.4% of his opponents to reach base without putting the ball in play, which obviously made that small-sample ERA feel rather unsustainable. The flamethrowing righty and former top prospect still sits 97.7 mph with his four-seamer, but Burdi’s career has been devastated by injuries and this year hasn’t been an exception. He was twice placed on the 15-day IL due to a right hip injury, eventually moving to the 60-day IL after the second of those two placements.
Burdi was the No. 46 overall draft pick in 2014, going to the Twins after a standout career as Louisville’s closer. Multiple arm injuries, including a pair of Tommy John procedures, have derailed him. He’s appeared in 31 big league games and tallied only 25 MLB innings, pitching to a 6.48 ERA with a big 32.5% strikeout rate but also a glaring 16.4% walk rate in that time.
Bickford, 29, pitched in an even smaller slate of 8 1/3 innings for the Yankees this year. He was tagged for nine runs (eight earned) on 10 hits and one walk with six strikeouts in that time. Another former top pick — No. 18 overall to the Giants in 2015 — Bickford had a big season with the 2021 Dodgers when he pitched 50 1/3 innings of 2.50 ERA ball out of the Los Angeles bullpen.
He’s been unable to replicate that success in the three seasons since, however, working to a combined 5.07 ERA in 136 1/3 innings while his fastball his dipped by a mile per hour and while his walk and strikeout rates have trended in the wrong direction. Bickford has a lifetime 4.62 ERA in 189 big league frames, but the entirety of his success has been confined to that excellent 2021 showing.
Both Burdi and Bickford can reject their outright assignments in favor of free agency. Even if they accept, they’ll be able to become minor league free agents at season’s end.
Yankees Reinstate Clarke Schmidt, Ian Hamilton; Designate Phil Bickford, Nick Burdi
The Yankees announced that right-handers Clarke Schmidt and Ian Hamilton have both been reinstated from the 60-day injured list prior to today’s game with the Cubs, and Schmidt will take the ball as the game’s starting pitcher. To create roster space, New York has designated right-hander Phil Bickford and Nick Burdi for assignment.
Schmidt was off to a tremendous start in 2024, as the former first-rounder and top-100 prospect had a 2.52 ERA over his first 60 2/3 innings of the season. Unfortunately, that initial success was then cut short by a lat strain, and Schmidt hasn’t pitched in the majors since the end of May. His work during a minor league rehab assignment (3.18 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings) hints that Schmidt has continued to stay in good form, but naturally the real test will come now that Schmidt is once again facing big league hitters.
With Schmidt returning today and Luis Gil throwing six shutout innings in his own return from the IL yesterday, the Yankees’ rotation is getting healthier for the stretch run. The club’s plan is to move to a six-man rotation in order to both ease Schmidt and Gil back into action, and to give Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, and Nestor Cortes some extra rest.
In Cortes’ case, he will likely work behind Schmidt today in a piggyback capacity, and the next week or so could act as an unofficial competition between Cortes, Schmidt, and possibly Gil to see who retains a starting job once the Yankees return to a standard five-man pitching staff. Obviously further injuries or under-performance from another starter might alter this plan for September and into the playoffs, but simply having more healthy arms available for now gives the Bronx Bombers some flexibility in figuring things out.
Hamilton’s recovery also impacts the bullpen picture, as the right-hander has been out since mid-June with a lat strain of his own. Hamilton posted a 2.64 ERA over 58 innings in 2023 to seemingly cement himself as an important piece of the relief corps, but he ran into a few more stumbles with a 4.55 ERA across 29 2/3 frames this season. It is worth noting that Hamilton allowed eight earned runs over his first 25 2/3 innings this year and then seven ER in his last four innings and four appearances before his IL placement, so it is fair to wonder if Hamilton was hampered by trying to pitch through injury.
Since Clay Holmes‘ hold on the closer’s job is no longer stable, Hamilton could potentially get some high-leverage work if he returns in good form. While Hamilton only has two career saves and it might be asking a lot for a pitcher to become a closer after such a long injury layoff, the Yankees figure to explore all options if Holmes can’t stabilize his performance. Manager Aaron Boone also hinted that even Schmidt or Gil might get consideration as a late-inning reliever.
Burdi has also been through an injury-marred season, as recurring hip problems led to stints on both the 15-day and 60-day injured lists, limiting him to 9 2/3 MLB innings and 13 1/3 innings at Triple-A. In essence, it has been more of the same for a hard-throwing pitcher whose career has been defined by a lot of strikeouts, inconsistent control, and unfortunately a lot of injuries — Burdi’s health record includes two Tommy John surgeries and a thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.
For Bickford, this is the second time New York has DFA’ed the veteran righty in the last three months, and he elected free agency after clearing waivers. Bickford then re-signed with the Yankees on a new Major League contract and rejoined the active roster a couple of weeks ago. One disastrous outing against the Blue Jays (five earned runs in two-thirds of an inning) on June 29 accounted for much of the 8.64 ERA Bickford has posted across 8 1/3 innings in the majors this year, and he has looked much sharper in the minors with a 3.00 ERA in 45 frames for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
If Burdi and Bickford each clear waivers, they have the ability to reject an outright assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency, as both pitchers have previously been outrighted in their careers. It wouldn’t be surprising to see either just re-sign with the Yankees on a new minor league contract, similar to how Bickford previously rejoined the club after his earlier DFA.