Brian Cashman saw a pair of former New York Yankees right-handers contribute to the Boston Red Sox’s run to the American League Championship Series in 2021.
This year, the Yankees general manager is hoping the reverse is true.
MLB Trade Rumors (via Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America) reports the Yankees have signed former Red Sox right-hander Ryan Weber to a minor-league contract.
However, expectations should be kept low for the 31-year-old, who has a lifetime 5.28 ERA in 63 appearances (16 starts).
Weber broke into the majors in 2015 with the Atlanta Braves. The Seattle Mariners claimed him off waivers before the 2017 season. Weber signed with the Tampa Bay Rays as a free agent in 2018, then joined the Red Sox ahead of the 2019 campaign. He hung around in Boston until June of 2021, when Weber was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers, who waived him one month later, and watched him go back to the Mariners. Per MLB Trade Rumors:
The 31-year-old only made four MLB appearances last season, although they came with three different teams. He made one outing each with the Red Sox and Brewers and pitched in a pair of games for the Mariners. Weber spent the bulk of the year with those teams’ respective Triple-A affiliates, combining for 103 1/3 frames of 4.18 ERA ball with a minuscule 3.1% walk percentage in generally hitter-friendly settings.
So chances are Weber won’t the impact on the Yankees that Garrett Whitlock and Adam Ottavino had last year on the Red Sox. Boston claimed Whitlock from the Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft and traded with New York for Ottavino, and both players made significant contributions to the Red Sox bullpen, becoming two of manager Alex Cora’s most dependable high-leverage arms.
Whitlock could crack the Boston starting rotation in 2022 while Ottavino remains a free agent.
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
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