Yankees claim veteran reliever Cory Gearrin off waivers and release Domingo Acevedo

The trade deadline has come and gone but that hasn’t stopped the Yankees from being very active on the waiver market over the past couple of weeks. Today they claimed RHP Cory Gearrin off of waivers and released RHP Domingo Acevedo to open up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Gearrin is now the fifth reliever the Yankees have acquired this month and with eight days left to go in August, he might not be the last. Recently they signed veteran RH’s David Hernandez and Trevor Rosenthal to minor league deals, acquired LHP Joe Mantiply from the Reds and claimed RHP Ryan Dull off of waivers.

These moves were all made for bullpen depth but it’s unlikely that any of these relievers will make a big impact for the major league club down the stretch. Gearrin and Dull are on the 40-man roster so there’s a good chance we’ll see them when rosters expand in September but we probably won’t see either one of them on the postseason roster.

In 48 games with the Mariners this year the 33-year-old Gearrin had a 3.92 ERA in 41.1 IP with 39 K’s and a 1.43 WHIP. Opponents have hit .247 against him this season and he’s allowed 3 HR and walked 21. One of the main reasons why the Yankees probably claimed him is he’s been very effective against right-handed hitters, holding them to .227 BA and a .309 SLG%.

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As the Yanks await the returns of Dellin Betances and Luis Severino adding a guy like Gearrin for insurance is a wise move in case one of them can’t make back in the coming weeks. The expectation right now is that they’ll still return sometime soon, but it’s always good to have as many options as possible in September.

It was surprising to see the release of Acevedo to make room for Gearrin on the 40 after he was considered one of the Yankees top pitching prospects not too long ago. The 25-year-old looked he was on track to be a future staple in the starting rotation just a couple of years ago, but injuries and a decrease in velocity have really hurt his stock.

Before the season he was moved to the bullpen full time and prior to his release he was on the IL at Triple-A Scranton with an undisclosed injury. In 10 games with Railriders, he struggled with a 5.40 ERA, 21 K’s and a .288 OPP BA in 16.2 IP.