Yankees Sign Zach McAllister To Minor League Deal

The Yankees signed veteran right-hander Zach McAllister to a minor league deal over the weekend, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate. McAllister, a WME client, is already active in the organization, having pitched a scoreless inning for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday.

McAllister, 35, opted out of a minor league deal with the D-backs last week. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2018 but was a steady presence on Cleveland’s pitching staff for six years, logging a combined 3.84 ERA with roughly average strikeout/walk rates in 529 innings between the rotation and bullpen from 2012-17.

The deal with the Yankees is something of a homecoming for McAllister. New York selected him in the third round of the 2006 draft but traded him to Cleveland in 2010 as a player to be named later in return for outfielder Austin Kearns. He never appeared in a big league game with the Yankees before being shipped out. This reunion will give him another opportunity to do so in the season’s final couple months.

McAllister has pitched to a 4.81 ERA in 39 1/3 Triple-A frames this year, fanning 30.4% of his opponents against an 11% walk rate. The Yankees are the veteran right-hander’s fifth Triple-A stop since his last big league appearance in 2018. He’s also spent time with the Dodgers, Phillies, Cardinals and D-backs. McAllister logged a 3.99 ERA with the Cardinals’ top affiliate last year, punching out 30% of his opponents with Memphis. He’s maintained that strikeout rate this year, and if the Yankees need a depth arm in the bullpen at some point between now and season’s end, he’ll give them a veteran option.