New York Yankees Agree To Deal With Past World Series Champion Reliever

The New York Yankees have added a reliever to the mix after a agreeing to a deal with a past World Series champion.

Apr 1, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Tyler Matzek (68) pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the ninth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The bullpen for the New York Yankees is going to look a bit different this year.

Despite having a relief staff that finished with the sixth-best ERA last season, new faces have been brought into the mix after some of their top arms hit the open market and weren't retained.

Most notably, the Yankees pulled off a trade for Devin Williams, the two-time All-Star and two-time Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year winner to become their new closer following the demotion and departure of Clay Holmes.

That will move Luke Weaver into a setup or high-leverage role as needed, which now creates a deeper unit compared to what they had last season.

New York is lacking left-handed relievers at the moment. Re-signing Tim Hill gives them just one lefty coming out of the bullpen on their projected depth chart, something that will need to be fixed going forward.

Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, they are giving themselves an option after coming to an agreement with Tyler Matzek on a minor league deal. No financial compensation was reported at the time of writing.

Matzek was a huge part of the Atlanta Braves' bullpen when they won the World Series in 2021.

He posted a 2.57 ERA across his 69 regular season appearances that year and was even better in the playoffs with a 1.72 ERA in 13 appearances, picking up three wins with 24 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched.

But after that, he has been affected by injuries.

The left-hander made 42 appearances in 2022 between stints on the injured list, but he had to undergo Tommy John surgery in October of that year which kept him out for the entire 2023 campaign.

Matzek signed a deal with the San Francisco Giants in 2024. He was traded back to the Braves ahead of the deadline where he made his return to the Major League mound, giving up 11 earned runs in his 10 innings pitched.

This is a low-risk move by New York.

If Matzek can get back to being the pitcher he was before he underwent Tommy John surgery, then he could become a weapon for them out of the bullpen.