Brendan Beck Suddenly Gifted a Chance to Remind Yankees of His Potential

It's time for the Yankees' No. 21-ranked prospect to prove himself.

Brendan Beck's promotion could be the opportunity he's been waiting for. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Yankees' pitching plans for the week were dealt a hiccup on Wednesday night. Following the disappointing 6-1 loss to the Rangers, the Yankees announced that Paul Blackburn would be starting on Thursday in place of Ryan Weathers, "who said he dealt with a viral illness after his most recent start," per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

The pitching changes didn't stop there. New York optioned right-handed pitcher Yerry de los Santos back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after 3 1/3 scoreless innings on Wednesday, only to surprisingly select the contract of fellow righty Brendan Beck to an MLB contract right before Thursday's 12:35 p.m. ET showdown with Texas.

Prior to today’s game, the Yankees signed RHP Brendan Beck (#89) to a Major League contract and selected him to the active roster.

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 7, 2026

Blackburn has starting experience, yes, but also hasn't been the lead man since last season—a year in which he went 0-3 with a 5.65 ERA in four starts (14 1/3 innings). The Yankees might not have a ton of faith in his ability to last long, hence why Beck—who has pitched 37 innings across seven starts with the RailRiders—was likely signed as insurance.

Beck might not be the flashiest call-up and his promotion is a bit of a surprise; however, that doesn't change the fact that the 27-year-old RHP is staring at an opportunity to remind the Yankees of his worth.

Brendan Beck must capitalize on his sudden Yankees opportunity

With pitching prospects like Elmer Rodríguez, Ben Hess, Carlos Lagrange and Bryce Cunningham filling the Yankees' cupboard, it's been easy for Beck to get lost in the shuffle. The former 2021 second-rounder hasn't experienced the best campaign down in Scranton, going 2-2 with a 5.11 ERA in his aforementioned seven starts, striking out 37 batters while issuing eight walks along the way.

Despite that poor performance, there is reason to believe that the La Jolla, CA native can turn his outlook around. After all, he is the Yankees' No. 21 prospect at the time of writing, so that must mean something.

Brendan Beck's latest Triple-A effort could indicate that he's back on track. If that's the case, the Yankees should be excited. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

For starters, Beck looked good in his last Triple-A outing on May 2. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound righty notched five strikeouts in seven innings, where he only gave up two earned runs on five hits. It was also the first time this season that he reached the seventh frame, an encouraging sign of what's to come.

Let's not forget that Beck was fairly solid in 2025, even though he missed the entire previous season because of an elbow injury. He made 26 appearances (24 starts) across Triple-A and Double-A, going 13-5 with a 3.49 ERA, 123 strikeouts and a 1.058 WHIP in 131 1/3 innings. Obviously, he hasn't reached similar heights this year, but those stats prove Beck is capable of better results than he's shown so far.

Bullpen role is the best path to a long-term Yankees future

Although Beck made a name for himself as a starter in the minors, there isn't a realistic path to joining the Yankees' starting rotation at the moment. Cam Schlittler and Max Fried are in the American League Cy Young mix, while Ryan Weathers and Will Warren have pitched well more often than not. Carlos Rodón is on his way back from injury this weekend, and Gerrit Cole will also be on the way in a few weeks.

With that logjam ahead of him, Beck's best path to stick with the Yankees likely comes through the bullpen. Relievers like Jake Bird and Camilo Doval have been glaring weak spots in the bullpen, and the unit needs another arm after de los Santos returned to Scranton.

A two-game sample size is small, but Beck fared well as a reliever last season. He went 2-0 in those opportunities, striking out eight batters while giving up four earned runs on seven hits in 10 1/3 innings. He also pitched out of the bullpen nine times during his four-year run as a Stanford Cardinal.

He has a solid curveball and slider, which could be assets out of the Yankees' bullpen. His fastball and sinker won't wow anyone; however, that's negligible if the rest of his arsenal is working.

It isn't much, but Brendan Beck has some relief experience from his time in the minors and college. | George Walker IV / Tennessean.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Baseball is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business. Beck's minor-league season hasn't been great, and that's caused him to lose some shine, but he can cast any concerns aside by making the most of the opportunity the Yankees are gifting him.

It will be interesting to see how many opportunities Beck gets during his call-up and how long his promotion lasts. The Yankees were quick to move on from de los Santos twice this season, even though he was useful in each opportunity, indicating that Beck will need to pitch some of his best games of the season if he wants to avoid an immediate ticket to Scranton.