Yankees Re-Sign Reliever Joe Mantiply to MiLB Pact

The New York Yankees re-signed left-handed reliever Joe Mantiply Thursday morning, just over a week after releasing the 25-year-old.

While the news has been slightly overshadowed by the New York Yankees bringing back another lefty reliever late Wednesday night, the club also re-signed Joe Mantiply at the Winter Meetings.

The Yankees front office originally claimed Mantiply off waivers from the Detroit Tigers in early November, but he was cut loose in a wave of roster moves as the organization sorted out the 40-man in preparation for the Rule 5 draft.

Mantiply was lit up in his first two career big league appearances for the Tigers in 2016, allowing five earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and a home run in just 2.2 innings of work, but has consistently put up solid numbers during his climb up the minor league ladder.

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Selected in the 27th round of the 2013 June amateur draft, Mantiply has never garnered much notice as a prospect, but he has been quietly successful everywhere he’s pitched, accumulating a 2.44 ERA while striking out 24.3% of the batters he faced (8.9 K/9) and walking  just 5.9% (2.1 BB/9).

The 25-year-old southpaw split 2016 between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo, putting up a 2.73 ERA in 59.1 IP while striking out 28.6% of opposing batters (10.5 K/9) and walking 5.0% (1.8 BB/9).

The Yankees are reportedly looking to add a veteran lefty reliever via free agency at the Winter Meetings, and while I doubt bringing back Mantiply changes that, he does provide them with an additional option if they don’t sign a guy like Boone Logan or Jerry Blevins.

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New York already has LOOGYs Tommy Layne and Chasen Shreve on the 40-man roster, but neither is a sure bet to make the 2017 Opening Day bullpen at this point. While he no longer has a spot on the 40-man, Mantiply should be in the mix to win a job coming out of spring training, and even if he doesn’t, chances are he’ll get his chance as a member of the Scranton Shuttle at some point.