New York Yankees Sign Quality Left-Handed Reliever With Camp Underway

The New York Yankees have added some veteran pitching depth to their midst by signing a southpaw reliever.

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Rob Zastryzny pitches in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at American Family Field. | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees have made an addition to their roster by signing veteran left-handed reliever Rob Zastryzny to a minor league deal per an announcement by the team. They also noted he will be attending 2025 spring training.

Zastryzny was designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs last week and ultimately ended up going unclaimed on waivers and being outrighted. This was foregone since he had the right to reject the assignment and become a free agent and find another team to play for in the 2025 season.

At the MLB level, Zastryzny has not seen an exceptional amount of playing time.

In 2024 he only saw 7.2 innings there. However, he did well in the time he was on the mound, posting a 1.17 ERA, 0.652 WHIP, five strikeouts to one walk, and a 373 ERA+. In addition, he did start three of his nine games played, predominantly as an opener before the long reliever would follow him.

Most of his season was played at the Triple-A level in 2024, and he looked impressive there as well, pitching 29.2 innings in 30 appearances (none started), and accruing a 3.03 ERA, 1.045 WHIP, 39 strikeouts to 11 walks, and ended up with two saves as well.

2023 was the most playing time he has seen in his career at the MLB level, playing in 21 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, his ERA did take a dip compared to other campaigns, posting a 4.79 with only15 strikeouts and 13 walks.

That's what ultimately set him back a bit and pushed him into more of a minor-league depth role, as he is now looking to work his way back to finding some playing time for an MLB roster.

He will have tough competition in the Yankees bullpen after the addition of Devin Williams and others already on the roster such as Ian Hamilton and Mark Leiter Jr. Fernando Cruz also entered the mix in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds back in December.

But there is a path to finding some playing time as a left-handed option.

His performance in spring training will be critical for his chances, and it will be intriguing to see him playing alongside some of the prospects and recent additions, trying to push toward a potential return to the Majors.

Given that he already secured the invite, now all he has to do is show up and prove his skillset is worthy of retaining.