Reliever Geoff Hartlieb has gone unclaimed on outright waivers and elected free agency, the Yankees announced. New York designated him for assignment on Wednesday when they promoted pitching prospect Cam Schlittler.
Hartlieb has gone through this cycle twice in as many weeks. The Yanks selected his contract in late June and outrighted him a few days later. Hartlieb elected free agency, re-signed on a major league deal, then was DFA again after three days. He has gotten into two games and been hit hard in each. The journeyman righty has allowed six runs on five hits and four walks while retiring just four of 13 batters faced.
While MLB hitters have teed off on Hartlieb this year, he has had a nice run with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He carries a 3.34 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate against a 6.9% walk percentage. Hartlieb has a 4.17 ERA over parts of six seasons at the top minor league level. He has given up nearly eight earned runs per nine across 80 2/3 career major league frames. Most of that time came in a Pittsburgh uniform. Hartlieb has played for five clubs overall.
The Yankees could try to bring Hartlieb back on a minor league contract. He’s out of options, so they needed to run him through waivers to take him off the MLB roster. The lack of options limits his flexibility, but his production in Scranton should get him attention as a depth option.
