The New York Yankees have had a rather quiet offseason, but the team could make an intriguing move.
New York has brought in some depth players to compete for roles, and one area of need is pitching. Teams can’t have enough pitching, and Yankees reporter Estevao Maximo of PinStripeAlley urges the team to acquire recently DFA’d left-handed reliever Anthony Banda.
“After agreeing to a deal to avoid arbitration with the left-hander, the reigning back-to-back champs found themselves in need of a roster space, to which the solution was designating Banda for assignment, allowing for any of the other 29 MLB clubs to pick him up — the Yankees should contemplate doing so,” Maximo wrote. …
“The Yankees currently have two lefties in the bullpen in Tim Hill and Ryan Yarbrough, and while Banda’s acquisition wouldn’t fix the lack of a strikeout specialist, his splits make him an outstanding left-on-left option: left-handed hitters had a .255 SLG against Banda in 2025 and a .496 OPS.”
Banda could compete for a bullpen job in spring training and give manager Aaron Boone another left-handed reliever. He also won back-to-back World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers and has pitched in the playoffs, as he could give Boone a high-leverage reliever.
Banada went 5-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 71 games last season with the Dodgers.
Yankees Bullpen Far From Set
New York’s bullpen was an issue last season, which led to the Yankees trading for David Bednar and Camilo Doval.
Entering spring training, Bednar, Doval, Fernando Cruz, Ryan Yarborough, and Tim Hill appear to be locks, leaving two to three bullpen spots up for grabs, according to The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty.
“The Yankees expect Bednar to close and for Doval and Cruz to work with him in the eighth and ninth innings. Hill will again battle lefties, and Yarbrough can give the team multiple innings and a funky lefty look,” Kuty wrote.
“After that group, it’s wide open. Depending on whether the Yankees believe they need a fifth starter over the first week-plus of the regular season, they could go into Opening Day with as many as four bullpen spots to fill.”
The other relievers competing for a bullpen spot for the Yankees are Paul Blackburn, Jake Bird, Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest, Yerry De Los Santos, and Angel Chivilli, among others.
New York Makes Minor Trade
The Yankees did make an intriguing trade on Monday to acquire a former top prospect.
New York acquired infielder Max Schuemann from the Athletics in exchange for right-handed pitcher Luis Burgos. In a corresponding move, Yanquiel Fernandez was designated for assignment.
Schuemann became expendable for the Athletics, after they claimed Andy Ibanez off waivers after he was DFA’d by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The infielder was the team’s 21st-ranked prospect in 2024, and the former 20th-round pick made his MLB debut in 2024. Last season with the Athletics, Schuemann hit .197 with 2 home runs and 13 RBIs in 101 games. In his MLB career, he’s hitting .212 with 9 home runs and 47 RBIs over 234 games.
Schuemann will look to compete for a bench role with Amed Rosario and Oswaldo Cabrera.
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