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Royals Take a Chance on Former Yankees Reliever

Kansas City signed ex-Yankees reliever Brooks Kriske to a minor league deal this week.
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Brooks Kriske will always be remembered by Yankees fans as the right-hander that produced one of the wildest innings in baseball history.

The reliever threw four wild pitches in the 10th inning at Fenway Park back in July of 2021 to blow a game against the Red Sox, the first time in MLB history that a pitcher has thrown four-plus wild pitches in an extra inning.

New York ended up designating Kriske for assignment later that year. He had a brief big-league stint with the Orioles, but hasn't pitched in the Majors since, spending the 2022 season over in Japan. 

This week, Kriske took one step closer to a return to MLB, signing a minor league deal with the Royals. The right-hander was subsequently assigned to the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers, according to the MiLB transactions page. 

Kriske, 28, was drafted by the Yankees in the sixth round in 2016 out of the University of Southern California. He made his MLB debut during the pandemic-shortened season in 2020, posting a 15.09 ERA over 12 total appearances in a Yankees uniform. He had a 12.27 ERA over four outings with Baltimore in 2022.

Those numbers are certainly an eyesore, but Kriske has some potential to put it together, producing consistent success in the minor leagues. Over four minor league campaigns, Kriske owns a 2.34 ERA. He had a 3.25 ERA over 32 total appearances in Japan this year. 

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