Yankees sign reliever Danny Farquhar to minor league deal

On Monday, Jon Heyman of Fancred announced that the Yankees signed free agent reliever Danny Farquhar to a minor league deal. The right-hander suffered a brain aneurysm while a member of the Chicago White Sox on April 20, 2018.

Recent Yankees signing, Danny Farquhar, and his remarkable story is a reminder of how in the end, baseball is just a game.

For those unfamiliar with the details, the 31-year collapsed in the White Sox dugout after finishing an inning in relief early last season. Thanks to the ingenious and rapid thinking of the first responders on-hand, Farquhar underwent immediate surgery at a nearby hospital — in what could have been a fatal situation.

After months of recovery and rehabilitation, Farquhar returned to throwing a baseball, and the Yankees believe the righty can compete for a spot in the bullpen.

MLB Network recently aired a very moving piece featuring the righty and studio host Matt Yallof, who suffered a stroke in 2016. Both discuss their similar head-related complications and the challenges they had to overcome.

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The Florida-native has pitched in the majors with four different organizations (Blue Jays,  Mariners, Rays and White Sox). In parts of seven seasons, Farquhar has compiled a 3.93 ERA with 309 strikeouts in 272.1 innings. Additionally, the righty has collected 16 career saves.

His best year to date was in 2014 with Seattle, where he posted career bests in ERA (2.66), appearances (66), innings pitched (71.0), and strikeouts (81) — to name a few.

Funny enough, this is actually Farquhar’s second stint with the Yankees organization, as he was claimed off waivers from the Oakland Athletics on June 26, 2012. However, Farquhar was later dealt alongside RHP D.J. Mitchell on July 23 in exchange for future Hall of Famer, Ichiro Suzuki.

Farquhar’s role with the Yankees in 2019 is unknown at this point, due to both his medical situation and ability to compete for a spot in the bullpen. Although he has been cleared to resume his baseball career, one has to imagine he has some rust from not pitching in the big leagues for almost an entire year.

Hopefully, Farquhar will get a good look in Spring Training and stick out for the one or two spots remaining in the ‘pen. New York also has multiple internal options they could turn to, which makes Farquhar’s goal a bit tougher.

I can personally say, from not only Yankees fans, but fans of the sport in general, that it’s fantastic to welcome Farquhar back. Teams, coaches, fans and media alike, get so obsessed with box scores and final results that we often miss the big picture.

From all of us at Yanks Go Yard, welcome back, Danny Farquhar. Here’s to a productive and healthy 2019 season and so much more.