Danny Farquhar To Join Yankees’ Triple-A Affiliate

Right-hander Danny Farquhar is set to join the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate this week after opening the season in extended Spring Training, tweets Lindsey Adler of The Athletic. He signed a minor league deal with the Yanks during the offseason.

It’s a most welcome and notable step forward for Farquhar, who a year ago this time was still recovering from a life-threatening medical issue. The now-32-year-old righty, then with the White Sox, collapsed in the dugout between innings of a relief appearance. Upon being rushed to a nearby hospital, it was revealed that a ruptured aneurysm had led to hemorrhaging in his brain. He underwent emergency surgery and hasn’t pitched in a professional game since that time.

Farquhar’s recovery has been incredible, and the righty now tells Adler that he feels his arm strength has returned. Whether he makes it back to a big league mound at some point will be determined by his performance moving forward, but the mere fact that Farquhar is able to pitch in a competitive setting again is an inspiring testament to his determination.

The Yankees’ bullpen has received strong performances from Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Tommy Kahnle and Adam Ottavino this season, but the overall unit has been a bit weaker than many would’ve expected. Dellin Betances has yet to pitch in 2019, while Chad Green and Jonathan Holder have each taken significant steps backward.

Farquhar is likely still a ways from being any kind of consideration, but even if he’s unable to crack the New York ’pen, his work at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre could serve as an audition for other clubs. That’s largely secondary at this point, though. For the time being, it’ll merely be good to see Farquhar back on any mound — regardless of setting.