Yankees Claim Reliever Blake Parker Off Waivers

The New York Yankees have claimed veteran righthanded reliever Blake Parker off waivers from the Seattle Mariners and will add him to the MLB roster.

The Yankees added their second veteran reliever in the space of a few hours Tuesday, when they claimed righty Blake Parker off waivers from the Mariners.

Earlier in the afternoon they signed free agent lefthander Tommy Layne, who had just been released by the Boston Red Sox. To make room for Layne, the Yankees optioned rookie lefty Richard Bleier to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

Before claiming Parker, the Yankees had two open spots on the 40 man roster, so no additional move is required there. However, Parker will reportedly be assigned to a big league club immediately, which means another reliever will need to be demoted to make room. Chasen Shreve, Anthony Swarzak, or Nick Goody are all candidates to get the boot. 

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Blake Parker has appeared in just one major league game for Seattle this year after signing a minor league deal with them last December, but put up some impressive numbers for their Triple-A affiliate. He had a 2.72 ERA and struck out 12.71 batters per nine in 39.2 innings of work on the season.

The 31-year-old Parker does have some big league experience under his belt, pitching to a 3.68 ERA in 73.1 innings pitched from 2012-2014. His best season came in 2013, when he had a 2.72 ERA and struck out 10.68 batters per nine in 49 relief appearances.

Parker has dealt with some elbow issues in the past that reportedly led to diminished velocity. He is back to throwing in the mid 90’s this season and pairs his heater with a plus curve. The strikeout potential is especially enticing. It’s obvious why the Yankees want to take a chance from him. 

Like Layne, Parker comes with a few years of team control. GM Brian Cashman has done a nice job building the Yankees bullpen from the scrap heap in recent years. Relievers are so unpredictable that you never know when you will stumble into a gem.

With the departure of Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman, the Yankees bullpen is pretty much wide open behind Dellin Betances next year. Adam Warren and Tyler Clippard are fine options in the middle innings, but New York definitely needs to be on the hunt for arms with upside.

Next: Yankees Need to Continue Housecleaning This Winter

It’s nice to see Cashman and the Yankees continue to be proactive about re-shaping the club following the trade deadline. There is plenty of work left to do to restock this team for 2017.