Luke Weaver

Devin Williams: Open To Reunion With Yankees

By Charlie Wright | October 15, 2025 at 7:33pm CDT

Devin Williams endured a tumultuous season in the Bronx, but the free agent has expressed interest in returning to New York. Williams told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com he’d “definitely be open” to rejoining the Yankees in free agency. “I really enjoyed my experience here. … There’s a lot to like about this city, but it took me some time to adjust.”

New York acquired Williams from Milwaukee this past offseason. The Yankees gave up left-hander Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin for a year of the elite closer’s services. The team’s previous stopper, Clay Holmes, bolted in free agency for a starting opportunity with the Mets. New York was able to replace Holmes with one of the premier relievers of the decade, though the move didn’t pan out as expected.

Williams earned a save against his former team on opening night. He gave up three base runners and needed 36 pitches to get three outs, but got the job done. Williams had a couple of uneven performances in the ensuing weeks, including an extra-inning loss against Pittsburgh, though none came in save situations. He locked down all four of his initial save chances. Williams coughed up a four-run lead on April 19 against Tampa Bay, leading to another extra-inning defeat. In his next appearance, Williams gave up three runs and recorded zero outs to blow his first save. The rough outing cost him the closing gig.

The next few months saw Williams work himself back into the late-inning mix after initially working in low-leverage spots. Luke Weaver earned six saves in May, but a hamstring strain cost him most of June. Williams returned to the closer role and went 12-for-13 on save chances from June through July. New York added a slew of relievers at the trade deadline, including a pair of closers in Camilo Doval and David Bednar. It was Bednar who would assume the role for New York, picking up 10 saves over the final two months of the season. He added two more saves in the playoffs.

Williams’ 4.79 ERA stands out as easily the worst of his seven-year MLB career, but he looked more or less like himself after regaining the closer’s role. Williams posted a 3.92 ERA with an elite 38.6% strikeout rate from June through the end of the regular season. He ripped off nine straight scoreless outings heading into the playoffs, then put up four more zeroes in the postseason. Williams averaged 94.1 mph on his fastball this year, which was down slightly from 2024 (94.7 mph), but right in line with 2023 (94.2 mph) and 2022 (94.1 mph).

The most encouraging sign for Williams, and maybe the biggest factor as he enters free agency, was durability. He made it through 2025 unscathed in the health department, leading to career highs in innings (62) and appearances (67). Williams missed the first four months of his final season in Milwaukee with stress fractures in his back. He was his usual dominant self when he returned, but the 21 2/3 innings he totaled were his fewest in a season since his rookie year.

Williams is entering a crowded reliever market. Proven closers Ryan Helsley and Raisel Iglesias are the headliners, along with Williams. Edwin Díaz and Robert Suarez could join them if they opt out of their current contracts. Emilio Pagan and Shawn Armstrong are coming off career years as fill-in closers. Veterans like Kenley Jansen, Kirby Yates, and Kyle Finnegan have plenty of late-inning experience. Weaver might’ve earned himself a look as a closer after two strong seasons in New York.

Age is certainly on Williams’ side compared to the other available bullpen options. He’s now entering his age-31 season, making him one of the youngest notable free agent relievers. Williams is well-positioned to earn one of the longest and most lucrative contracts of the group, despite the hiccup to begin his New York tenure.

The Yankees will have Bednar and Doval under team control for next season, so they don’t have a strong need to reunite with Williams. Bednar’s ascension to the closer role after joining the team may also be a factor. Williams said it “depends on the scenario” regarding whether being the closer would impact his free agency decision.

With both Williams and Weaver potentially on the move, New York likely needs another piece or two to solidify the backend of the bullpen. The Yankees ranked just 23rd in bullpen ERA in 2025. They slipped to 26th after the trade deadline. Given their history of spending, the franchise will likely be in the mix for every notable name on the market.

AL East Notes: ALDS, Rodriguez, Weaver, Orioles

By Mark Polishuk | October 5, 2025 at 7:02pm CDT

The Blue Jays hold a 2-0 lead in the ALDS after a 13-7 win over the Yankees today. Toronto has torched the Yankees for 23 runs over the two games, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3-for-5 with a grand slam) and Daulton Varsho (4-for-5 with two homers and two doubles) doing the most damage today with four RBI apiece. Max Fried was charged with seven earned runs over three-plus innings in a disastrous outing for the Yankees ace.

New York’s lineup came to life with seven late runs against Toronto’s bullpen, after Jays starter Trey Yesavage was nothing short of dominant. In just his fourth career outing in the majors, Yesavage allowed only a walk over 5 1/3 hitless innings, with 11 strikeouts — the most K’s from any Blue Jays pitcher in a postseason game. The decision to pull Yesavage after 78 pitches seemed to be based on a desire to keep Yesavage from facing Yankees batters a third time, and to potentially keep Yesavage fresh for usage later in the series. Of course, the Yankees can only hope that there will even be a “later in the series,” as the Jays are just one win away from advancing to the ALCS. Game 3 is on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

Luke Weaver Open To Rotation Opportunities In Free Agency

By Steve Adams | September 22, 2025 at 11:22am CDT

Luke Weaver has been one of the Yankees’ best low-cost pickups in recent memory. Originally landing in the Bronx via a Sept. 2023 waiver claim, Weaver pitched well in three starts for the Yankees down the stretch that year and made a good enough impression that the Yanks re-signed him to a major league deal in January after he’d become a free agent. He moved to the bullpen in 2024 and made his $2MM base salary look like a raucous bargain. The Yankees made the no-brainer call to pick up a $2.5MM option on Weaver for the 2025 season, and while he hasn’t been as good as he was in ’24, he’s still been a key member of the relief corps.

Weaver is slated to return to free agency for a second time this offseason, and he’ll do so with much higher stock than last time around. The 32-year-old figures to be one of the top relievers on the market … unless he follows the same path as former teammate Clay Holmes and signs with an eye toward moving back into a rotation. The extent to which teams around the league will have interest in that scenario remains to be seen, but when asked about the possibility, Weaver himself told Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of the New York Post on their podcast that he’s open to the idea:

“For so long, being a starting pitcher — you don’t expect to be a reliever. Being a starting pitcher, honestly, has got to be the best job in the big leagues — especially when it’s going well. But, I just found this niche. I just found this ability to do something a little bit different and use my background of starting to channel it into how I pitch now.

…The door is open. I am never just going to say, ’Absolutely not.’ When the time comes, let’s talk about it. Clay has done a great job this year in that transition. I don’t know what people are saying, but I’ve watched from afar, and I’m proud of him. That’s a really cool thing that he’s done. The transition, I don’t think people truly understand — that’s crazy. To do it as consistent as he has, I commend him. It’s cool to see that it’s possible, too. We see it happening from time to time now. Teams are being a little more strategic. So, yes, I’m very much open to it, but I also am not just like, ’Yeah I want to go do that,’ or, ’Yeah I want to go do this.’ Let’s sit at the table. Let’s have a conversation and see what that looks like and what best [puts me in position] to be the most successful. I would like to have those options if they are there.”

Weaver began his career as a starter and enjoyed plenty of early success. The former Florida State standout was the No. 27 overall pick by the Cardinals in 2014 and was in the big leagues just two years later. His debut effort was rocky, but in 2017, Weaver made 10 starts (and three relief appearances) for the Cardinals in a season that saw him pitch 60 1/3 innings of 3.88 ERA ball. He pitched 136 1/3 innings in 2018 and scuffled a bit, logging a 4.95 ERA, before coheadlining (alongside Carson Kelly) the Diamondbacks’ return for Paul Goldschmidt, who was traded to St. Louis one year ahead of his first crack at free agency.

In 2019, Weaver looked to be in a full-fledged breakout with Arizona. He started a dozen games and pitched 64 1/3 innings with a 2.94 earned run average, a 26.5% strikeout rate and a 5.4% walk rate. A flexor strain wiped out nearly two-thirds of his season, however, and when Weaver returned during the shortened 2020 season, the right-hander struggled badly. Weaver made a full slate of 12 starts and notched solid strikeout and walk rates, but he was also immensely homer-prone (1.73 HR/9) and limped to a 6.58 ERA in just 52 innings.

Shoulder and elbow injuries plagued Weaver each season from 2021-23. He posted a combined 5.80 ERA in 225 innings between four teams across those three seasons but, as previously noted, impressed the Yankees down the stretch. Heyman noted within the podcast that Weaver’s opportunities that offseason included a major league deal to return to the Yankees, a series of minor league deals with spring training invitations, or some options overseas. He chose to sign with the Yankees on that one-year contract, and he’s been reborn in the Bronx.

Through 145 1/3 innings out of Aaron Boone’s bullpen, Weaver has pitched to a 3.28 ERA with a 29.6% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate, a 32.2% ground-ball rate and 1.24 HR/9. The 93.8 mph he averaged on his four-seamer as a starting pitcher earlier in his career has spiked to 95.4 mph in short relief. He’s mostly scrapped his former mid-80s slider in favor of a harder, firmer cutter in the low 90s and worked off a four-seam/changeup/cutter mix that’s served him quite well.

That three-pitch mix, at least on the surface, would seemingly give Weaver a decent chance to transition back to rotation work. He’s the same age now that Holmes was when he reached free agency last winter. On the other hand, Holmes’ 6’5″, 245-pound frame is more in line with the prototypical starting pitcher than Weaver’s more slight, 6’2″, 180-pound frame. That’s not to say that Weaver can’t make a similar transition, but that leaner build is less common among starting pitchers, who tend to skew a bit on the larger side (which is only natural, given the physical demands of a starter’s workload).

Regardless, Weaver could well draw some interest as an under-the-radar rotation candidate this winter. Many of the expected top names in free agency have struggled this year, whether that’s with injuries or just lesser results than one might’ve expected on Opening Day. Dylan Cease, Michael King, Zac Gallen, Zach Eflin, Nestor Cortes, Walker Buehler and Dustin May are just some of the many pitchers whose platform year for free agency hasn’t gone as hoped. Weaver could present an intriguing alternative, particularly since he’s demonstrated that he can have success in a short relief role if stretching him back out doesn’t go according to plan.

Weaver made clear that he’s very interested in re-signing with the Yankees as well, but he’ll see what all of his opportunities look like in free agency this winter. His openness to stretching back out should lead to an even wider field of teams who are potentially interested and give him even more possibilities to consider. For now, the righty’s focus is understandably on the present and on pushing as deep into the postseason as possible, but he’ll be a far more fascinating free agent to track in the winter of 2025-26 than in 2023-24.

Fans — Yankees fans in particular — will want to check out the full interview, during which Weaver discusses (among many other topics) the rigors of trying to be available as often as possible, some pivotal differences in a pitcher’s mindset depending on the situations they’re facing, and his thoughts on the AL MVP race between two of his close friends: Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh.

AL East Notes: Bigge, Kim, Scherzer, Westburg, Gil, Williams, Weaver

By Leo Morgenstern | June 21, 2025 at 9:31pm CDT

In excellent news out of Tampa Bay, right-handed reliever Hunter Bigge is recovering well after undergoing surgery to repair multiple facial fractures (per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Bigge was hit in the face by a 105-mph foul ball off the bat of Adley Rutschman while watching Thursday’s game from the Rays’ dugout. Manager Kevin Cash told reporters today (including Topkin) that Bigge has been released from the hospital and returned home. There is no doubt the incident was terrifying, not just for Bigge but for everyone in either dugout at Steinbrenner Field. While Cash acknowledged that raising the screens in front of the dugouts probably isn’t an option, Topkin reports that the skipper will meet with his players to talk about potential adjustments. “We’ll talk through it,” said Cash. “And see what we can do.”

Bigge, 27, has not played since May 1 due to a right lat strain. Through his first 15 games in 2025, the hard-throwing righty pitched to a 2.40 ERA and a 3.99 SIERA. Indeed, he has been highly effective since he came to Tampa Bay as part of the trade return for Isaac Paredes. He has a 2.48 ERA and 3.22 SIERA in 28 appearances with the Rays. He does not yet have a timetable to get back to game action.

In additional Rays news, Ha-Seong Kim appeared in a rehab game yesterday, going 1-for-4 with a walk, two stolen bases, and a run scored. It was his first game in over a week; as Topkin notes, the Rays pulled him off his last rehab assignment on June 12 with right hamstring tightness. Kim’s strong offensive showing last night was surely good news for Tampa Bay. However, he played DH, and as he works his way back from shoulder surgery, the team’s biggest questions aren’t about his hitting or his baserunning but his ability to play shortstop. The Rays have already made it clear that they won’t reinstate Kim until he is ready to provide his typical Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop on a daily basis. So, tonight’s game, in which he’s playing shortstop, will be a much better test of his readiness to return. If it goes well, it might not be long before he finally makes his Rays debut. Topkin suggests Kim is unlikely to require the maximum 20 days of rehab before he is back with the big league club.

More from around the AL East…

Max Scherzer dominated Triple-A competition in his latest rehab start on Wednesday, striking out eight of the 17 batters he faced in 4 1/3 scoreless innings. However, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports that Scherzer’s “thumb/hand” was sore following the outing, so the Blue Jays have decided to push back his next bullpen session to Sunday, instead of today as originally planned. This won’t prevent him from rejoining Toronto’s rotation next week – presuming no further setbacks – but it now seems as if he’s looking at a Wednesday or Thursday return, instead of starting the series opener against the Guardians on Tuesday. The Jays have struggled to fill his spot in the rotation ever since he exited early from his first start of the season, so his return will be a highly anticipated event.
Orioles second and third baseman Jordan Westburg came back from a long stint on the injured list just last week, but he had a new injury scare this afternoon. He jammed his left hand into the bag as he stole second base and later exited the game. Following the contest, manager Tony Mansolino told reporters (including Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun) that Westburg had indeed jammed his fingers on the play, but X-rays were negative. The team is hoping it’s just a day-to-day injury and won’t force Westburg back to the IL. The All-Star infielder has been hitting very well since his return from a hamstring strain.
Luis Gil, the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, has been out all season with a lat strain, but he’s making good progress toward his return to the Yankees rotation. Speaking to reporters before today’s game, manager Aaron Boone spoke highly of Gil’s performance in a live batting practice session (per The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty). Boone did not offer a timeline for the right-hander’s rehab, but he did compare Gil to a trade deadline addition, which suggests he could be back on the mound in late July or early August. Despite several major injuries, the Yankees rank eighth in starters’ ERA and fourth in starters’ SIERA this season. Gil’s return should make an already strong rotation even stronger.
In more Yankees news, Boone revealed on Friday that Devin Williams and Luke Weaver will share closing duties going forward (per ESPN’s Jorge Castillo). Williams is the bigger name with more experience in the role; he’s a two-time All-Star with 77 career saves. However, he struggled with his new team early in 2025, and Weaver stepped up to take over the closing job. Then, Williams moved back into his old ninth-inning role in June when Weaver hit the IL with a hamstring strain. He earned four saves in four chances over seven appearances, striking out 10, walking none, and giving up just one earned run. So, now that Weaver is healthy, it’s understandable why Boone wants to give both pitchers save opportunities. Weaver struggled in his first game back, giving up two hits, a walk, and a home run, but he didn’t seem overly concerned, telling Kuty, “I felt like my stuff was as good as it’s been all year, if not better.”

Yankees Notes: Weaver, Stanton, Rice, Stroman, Volpe

By Mark Polishuk | June 7, 2025 at 1:21pm CDT

Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided the media (including the New York Post’s Greg Joyce and MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) with injury updates on several players, including closer Luke Weaver. A left hamstring strain sent Weaver to the 15-day injured list earlier this week and reports suggested Weaver would miss between 4-6 weeks, though the Yankees themselves didn’t announce a timeline. While it is still very early in the recovery process, Weaver looks to be showing some progress, as he received a PRP injection in his hamstring and has resumed throwing in each of the last two days.

“[We] like the early stages of where he’s at and how he’s expressing to me how he feels,” Boone said of Weaver’s status. “He’s pretty encouraged and optimistic considering the injury and the timeline with it. So hopefully he does better than that.”

While we won’t know more until (or if) the Yankees release a more concrete timeline for Weaver, it would obviously be great news for New York if the right-hander can return sooner rather than later. Weaver has been excellent basically ever since the Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Mariners late in the 2023 season, and the reliever has become not just a high-leverage arm but a ninth-inning answer in each of the last two years. The Yankees installed Weaver at closer when Clay Holmes ran into some struggles in 2024, and Weaver received more save situations this year in the wake of Devin Williams’ rough start.

Turning to the lineup, Giancarlo Stanton might finally be closing in on his first on-field action of 2025, as Boone suggested that “a rehab [assignment]’s in play next week.” Stanton has been recovering from torn tendons in both elbows, and since these injuries cost him all of Spring Training, it has been a slow and gradual build as the slugger has gotten back into game shape. His recent work at the Yankees’ spring complex in Tampa has included running drills and multiple live batting-practice sessions.

While Stanton will certainly require multiple rehab games to get him fully ramped up for a return to the majors, the exact length of his rehab stint is to be determined. Since Stanton will be returning to a DH-only role, Boone previously said that Stanton may have something less than a standard rehab assignment, as Stanton will be focusing just on hitting rather than fielding work. If the veteran feels his batting eye and timing are set, it could conceivably be a relatively short time in the minors for Stanton, with his health obviously also a factor.

Stanton is also expected to return to the majors in something less than a full-time capacity as the Yankees’ DH, both in order to ease him back into action and to allow Ben Rice to keep getting some time in the lineup. Rice has cooled off significantly after a scorching start to the season, but he is still hitting .245/.330/.511 with 12 home runs over 209 plate appearances. Most of that playing time has come as a designated hitter, but Rice has also made 10 appearances at first base and four appearances at catcher.

This will remain Rice’s positional usage once Stanton gets back, as SNY’s Andy Martino writes that the Yankees aren’t planning to use Rice as a third baseman. Since Rice recently did some pregame fielding work at the hot corner, some speculation arose that the club might try to include Rice in its third base mix, but Martino poured cold water on that possibility. The left-handed hitting Rice may find himself in something of a platoon with the right-handed hitting Stanton at DH, with Rice also occasionally spelling Paul Goldschmidt at first base and getting the odd game at catcher when Austin Wells or J.C. Escarra need a rest day.

Besides Stanton, Marcus Stroman may also be nearing a rehab assignment, though Boone said any decisions about Stroman’s next steps may wait until after the club sees how he fully recovers from his latest throwing session. Stroman threw around 40 pitches over two innings of a live batting practice on Thursday, and told Boone in the immediate aftermath that his left knee was feeling good.

Inflammation in that left knee has kept Stroman from pitching in a big league game since April 11, though New York hasn’t yet moved Stroman from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. It has been almost a month since Stroman’s throwing progression was shut down after more knee soreness surfaced after another live BP, so it is understandable why the Yankees are continuing to be cautious with the right-hander’s timeline after this most recent batting practice session.

It is also worth noting that Boone said Stroman will be built up as a starting pitcher, which means Stroman will be returning to his preferred role. Early-season injuries elsewhere in New York’s rotation ensured Stroman would indeed be beginning the year as a starter once more, before his own knee issue created another hole in the starting five. Despite the absences of Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Stroman, the Yankees’ starters have remained one of the better rotations in the league, as Will Warren and especially swingman Ryan Yarbrough have been quite capable fill-ins.

Amidst all of these injuries, the Yankees seem to have dodged another bullet yesterday when scans came back negative on Anthony Volpe’s left elbow. The shortstop was hit in the elbow by a Walker Buehler changeup in the second inning of New York’s 9-6 win over Boston, and Volpe stayed in the game until the top of the fourth. Volpe is day-to-day for now and may be able to avoid an IL stint if the swelling and discomfort lessens in short order.

Yankees Place Luke Weaver On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | June 3, 2025 at 1:40pm CDT

June 3: Weaver is now officially on the IL, per a club announcement. Right-hander Carlos Carrasco has also been designated for assignment. It was reported yesterday that he had been placed on waivers. To replace those two, righty Fernando Cruz has been reinstated from the IL and righty Yerry De Los Santos has been recalled. The club also reinstated infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the IL with fellow infielder Jorbit Vivas optioned down to the minors.

June 2: The Yankees expect to place closer Luke Weaver on the 15-day injured list, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Weaver injured his hamstring while warming up during Sunday’s game. Passan notes that the team has yet to finalize a timetable but suggests it may be a four-to-six week absence.

Weaver has been one of baseball’s best relievers since landing in the Bronx. He turned in a 2.89 ERA while ranking third in MLB with 84 relief innings last year. Weaver punched out more than 31% of opponents. He recorded 22 holds and supplanted Clay Holmes as Aaron Boone’s closer in September. Weaver saved four more games while adding 15 1/3 frames of three-run ball in the postseason.

The offseason Devin Williams trade was supposed to push Weaver back into the setup role he’d held for the bulk of 2024. That arrangement lasted for around a month. Williams allowed three or more runs in three of his first 10 appearances. The Yankees pulled him from the ninth inning by the end of April, hoping that a setup role would allow him to find his footing in his new home.

Weaver drew back in as closer and has gone 8-9 in save chances. Despite a six-point drop in his strikeout rate, Weaver has been as effective as he was last season. He has only surrendered three runs in 25 2/3 frames. Boone will presumably provide an update on the team’s plans for the ninth inning when he meets with the New York beat before tomorrow’s series opener against the Guardians.

Williams has been far better of late, reeling off scoreless appearances in 10 of his last 11 outings. He’s striking out almost 40% of opponents in that time. Giving him the ninth inning is the most straightforward option. If the Yankees don’t want to do that, perhaps if they’re set on returning the role to Weaver once he’s healthy, then Mark Leiter Jr. or Fernando Cruz would be the other options. Cruz is expected back from shoulder inflammation tomorrow.

If Weaver does wind up requiring a 4-6 week recovery, the Yankees would get him back around the All-Star Break. They’d have a couple weeks to evaluate how their bullpen looks leading up to the trade deadline. Weaver is on track for free agency at the end of the season. He should have plenty of time to return and cement his status among the top two or three relievers in the class. He’ll probably be limited to a three-year deal as he enters his age-32 season, but he should command a strong annual value if he comes back without issue.

Yankees Designate Carlos Carrasco For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | June 3, 2025 at 1:35pm CDT

June 3: The Yankees announced today that Carrasco has been designated for assignment while Cruz has been reinstated from the IL, as expected. Additionally, Luke Weaver landed on the 15-day IL, as was previously reported. Righty Yerry De Los Santos was recalled in a corresponding move. The Yanks also reinstated infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the IL and optioned infielder Jorbit Vivas.

June 2: The Yankees have placed right-hander Carlos Carrasco on outright waivers, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. Players can be placed on waivers without being designated for assignment, so it seems Carrasco is still on the roster for now. However, Sherman notes that righty Fernando Cruz could be coming off the injured list on Tuesday. The Yankees are off today, so it seems like Carrasco could be the corresponding move for Cruz tomorrow.

The veteran Carrasco was only just added to the Yankee roster yesterday. Their pitching staff had been used fairly heavily in the prior days. Facing the Dodgers this weekend, the Yanks used five pitchers in Friday’s 8-5 loss. Then on Saturday, they got creamed 18-2. Starter Will Warren only lasted an inning and a third in that game, forcing the Yankees to use seven other pitchers to get through the rest of the game. One of those was utility player Pablo Reyes but the larger point is that the bullpen got pushed pretty hard.

Carrasco was added to give the club a fresh arm just in case Sunday’s game was another nightmare but it thankfully went far smoother. Ryan Yarbrough started and gave the club six good innings in a game the club eventually won 7-3. Jonathan Loáisiga tossed the seventh and Devin Williams the eighth. Luke Weaver was going to toss the ninth but was held back due to some hamstring discomfort. Tim Hill came in instead and got the final three outs.

That seemingly puts Carrasco in the unfortunate position of losing his roster spot without getting into a game. He was with the Yankees earlier this year and logged 32 innings in a swing role but had a 5.91 earned run average in that time. He got bumped off the roster and cleared waivers. He accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and made two starts there. The first outing was fine but the second was rough, as he allowed five earned runs without making it out of the second inning.

It seems unlikely that Carrasco will be claimed. He just cleared less than a month ago and hasn’t been in great form since. However, it’s also theoretically possible that there’s a team which has been snakebit by injuries of late and is more willing to take a chance on Carrasco now than they were just a few weeks ago.

If he does go unclaimed and the Yankees outright him off the roster, he has more than enough service time to elect free agency. However, the last time he cleared, he accepted and reported to the RailRiders, so perhaps he would do so again.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Yankees Exercise Club Option On Luke Weaver

By Darragh McDonald | November 1, 2024 at 6:15pm CDT

The Yankees announced that they have exercised their club option on right-hander Luke Weaver for the 2025 season. He’ll make a $2.5MM salary in the upcoming campaign.

The decision is not surprising at all. The Yankees showed a lot of faith in Weaver and it paid off in a big way. Though he was once a first-round pick and top prospect, his initial career success led into a real rough patch.

Weaver showed some promise as a starter at the start of his career but posted a 5.95 earned run average over the 2020-2023 period. He was designated for assignment by the Mariners in September of 2023 and landed with the Yankees, making three appearances for the Yanks as they ran out the clock on that season.

They must have seen something they liked in that time, as they re-signed him in January, a one-year deal that included a $2MM salary in 2024, a club option for 2025, as well as incentives and escalators.

The gamble paid out in a huge way, as Weaver just wrapped up an excellent season. He tossed 84 innings out of the Yankee bullpen this year with a 2.89 earned run average. He struck out 31.1% of batters faced while keeping his walk rate to a 7.9% level. He earned 22 holds and took over as closer late in the year, earning four saves. He made another 12 appearances in the postseason with a 1.79 ERA, earning four more saves.

Weaver’s $2.5MM club option came with escalators but they didn’t kick in until 100 innings pitched, presumably allowing him to lock in extra earnings if he eventually returned to the rotation. But since he stayed in relief all year, he wasn’t able to push the value of the option up.

$2.5MM is peanuts for a major league club, especially one like the Yankees that generally runs one of the higher payrolls in the league. For how well Weaver pitched this year, this was one of the most no-brainer decisions of the offseason.

Twins Claim Bubba Thompson

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2024 at 3:21pm CDT

The Twins claimed outfielder Bubba Thompson off waivers from the Yankees, per an announcement from the Yankees. He’d been designated for assignment last week in order to open space on the roster for right-hander Luke Weaver. The Twins had a pair of open spots on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t necessary.

Thompson, 25, is the game’s fastest player by measure of Statcast’s average sprint speed metric (30.4 ft/sec). He’s also one of the sport’s lightest hitters. In 241 career plate appearances at the big league level — all coming with the Rangers, who originally took him in the first round of the 2017 draft — Thompson is a .242/.286/.305 hitter. That modest slash line comes in spite of a hefty .351 average on balls in play and masks (to an extent) a career 29.9% strikeout rate. Thompson’s top-of-the-scale speed is countered by bottom-of-the-scale ratings in terms of average exit velocity (career 84.1 mph) and hard-hit rate (21.9%).

As one might expect for a player with such prodigious wheels, Thompson grades as a sound defender in his limited MLB action. He’s logged 595 innings in the outfield and been credited with a +1 from both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average. The former high school football star has drawn praise for off-the-chart athleticism dating back to his amateur days, and Baseball America has previously credited him as a plus-plus runner and plus defender in center field while also cautioning that he’s a below-average hitter who lacks consistency from at-bat to at-bat.

It hasn’t yet manifested in game settings, but Thompson draws praise for his above-average raw power. He’s never topped 16 home runs in a single season, however, and he’s only reached double-digit home runs twice in his pro career. He hit six home runs in 362 plate appearances in 2023 — all coming in the minors. Thompson is a career .284/.347/.440 hitter in 677 Triple-A plate appearances and a .268/.329/.436 hitter overall in the minors.

Thompson will give the Twins some depth in center field and a strong defensive alternative in the event that perennial injury risk Byron Buxton isn’t able to suit up in the outfield. Knee surgery limited Buxton exclusively to DH work in 2023, though the organization’s hope is that he can return to the outfield in 2024. As it stands, lefties Matt Wallner and Max Kepler are expected to man the corners at Target Field, although Kepler’s name has once again been floated as in trade rumblings throughout the offseason as Minnesota looks to pare back payroll and Kepler enters the final season of his contract.

Thompson still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so the Twins can freely shuttle him between Triple-A St. Paul and the big league team this coming season — assuming he sticks on the 40-man roster for the remainder of the offseason. If things go well, he can take help to offset the loss of free agent Michael A. Taylor, though Thompson has a long ways to go before proving he has enough bat to stick on a big league roster with any degree of consistency. If the Twins can succeed in coaxing more out of him at the plate, he can be controlled for another six seasons.

Yankees Sign Luke Weaver To Major League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | January 11, 2024 at 1:55pm CDT

The Yankees announced they have signed right-hander Luke Weaver to a one-year deal with a club option. Robert Murray of FanSided initially reported the deal, noting that Weaver will make $2MM in 2024 with the potential for the deal to max out at $8.25MM. The deal for the Ballengee Group client is pending a physical. Jon Heyman of The New York Post relays that there are performance bonuses in 2024 while the 2025 option comes with a $2.5MM base salary and escalators based on innings pitched in 2024 that could push it to $6MM.

Weaver, 30, had a nomadic season in 2023, one which he finished with the Yankees. They claimed him off waivers from the Mariners in mid-September and he made three starts for the club down the stretch. He tossed 13 1/3 innings over those outings and had a solid earned run average of 3.38.

That’s obviously a small sample of work and the rest of his season wasn’t nearly as impressive. He signed a $2MM deal with the Reds for the year but posted a 6.87 ERA in 97 innings for that club. He was released in August and signed with the Mariners, logging 13 1/3 innings for them with a 6.08 ERA before heading to the Yanks to finish out the year. Between the three clubs, he talled 123 2/3 frames with a 6.40 ERA, 19.4% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 35.5% ground ball rate.

The righty has shown better form in the past, including a stretch from 2017 to 2019 when he posted a 4.21 ERA in 261 innings between the Cardinals and Diamondbacks, with Weaver joining Andrew Young and Carson Kelly as the return in the Paul Goldschmidt trade. He paired a 23.4% strikeout rate in that time with a 7.6% walk rate, also getting grounders on 43.5% of balls in play. But his ERA jumped to 6.58 in the shortened 2020 season. He recovered somewhat in 2021, getting that down to 4.25, but missed time due to a strained shoulder and elbow inflammation and only made 13 starts.

In 2022, the Diamondbacks moved him to a relief role, which didn’t work out. He finished the year with a 6.56 ERA, split between the Snakes and the Royals, getting flipped at the deadline for Emmanuel Rivera. The Reds took a shot on him and moved him back to a starting role but, as mentioned, that didn’t work out well either.

Overall, he goes into 2024 with a 5.14 ERA which isn’t immediately impressive. He has never really had control problems, however, having never walked more than 8.9% of hitters in any season and currently sporting a 7.4% rate for his career. For reference, the league average in 2023 with 8.6%. Perhaps there’s some bad luck overall in his results, as his .328 batting average on balls in play and 68.4% strand rate are reach on the unfortunate side of average. ERA estimators such as his 4.31 FIP and 4.20 SIERA paint a more flattering picture than his actual ERA. But on the other hand, his strikeouts have ticked down for four straight seasons now.

The Yankees put a sizable dent in their pitching depth with the Juan Soto trade, as Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez were each sent to San Diego. The Yanks are set to have Gerrit Cole ace the ace this year, with Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes each looking to bounce back from injury-related struggles in 2023. Clarke Schmidt should be line for a back end job. The club has also been heavily connected to free agent starters like Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Marcus Stroman, as well as trade candidates like Dylan Cease.

Even if they do land another starter in the coming weeks, depth will still be important. Almost no club gets through a season using only its top five projected starters, with each team inevitably needing to turn to starter number six and seven and so on. The Yanks have Clayton Beeter, Luis Gil, Yoendrys Gómez, Cody Poteet and Will Warren around as depth options but Weaver will presumably jump into that mix.

Though his results on the season as a whole were poor in 2023, he finished strong in pinstripes and they must have liked what they saw. He’s also a former first-round pick and top prospect, in addition to having some decent major league results in the past. The $2MM salary isn’t far beyond this year’s $740K major league minimum, but the Yankees are slated to be a third-time competitive balance tax payor, with Roster Resource projecting a $291MM CBT figure at the moment. That puts them above the third tax line and near the fourth and final line of $297MM. Their current level of spending has a 95% and it would be 110% for any spending beyond the top line, so the Yanks will effectively be paying double for Weaver and anyone else they sign from now on.

If Weaver doesn’t have a rotation job to start the season, he will likely find himself in a bullpen job, perhaps as a long reliever. He has over five years of major league service time and cannot be optioned to the minors without his consent. If the Yanks want to remove him from the active roster at any point, they will need to work out a trade or designate him for assignment.

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