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Yankees wasting 40-man roster spot on Brooks Kriske somehow looks even worse

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 9: Brooks Kriske #82 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning of the game at Target Field on June 9, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Yankees defeated the Twins 9-6. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 9: Brooks Kriske #82 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning of the game at Target Field on June 9, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Yankees defeated the Twins 9-6. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

The recent halt in the baseball world has actually provided a bit of peace for New York Yankees fans, who have been dealing with far too much disappointment and questionable decision making for the last few years.

The 2021 season provided a lot of trauma on that front, and while we hate to bring up a segment that’ll make you punch your nearest wall, we simply have to given a timely transaction that reminded us of something we wish had been erased from our brains forever.

Remember Brooks Kriske? The guy that occupied a 40-man roster spot in 2020 and 2021 and either inexplicably prevented the team from getting better or protecting more valuable talent from the Rule 5 Draft?

The Yankees cut him loose toward the end of the 2021 campaign and he was picked up by the Baltimore Orioles, who then released the right-handed pitcher this offseason. No surprise there.

Not too long after he was floating among the pool of free agents and then barred from joining another MLB team amid the lockout, Kriske decided he’ll be packing his bags and heading overseas to Japan.

Per an official team announcement from the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball, Kriske is the newest member of the squad.

The Yankees holding onto Brooks Kriske now looks even worse.

That’s right, baby. The Yankees lost Garrett Whitlock to the Boston Red Sox because of their insistence to keep Kriske on the 40-man roster. We will defend the Yankees for a moment, though. Kriske had a promising showing in the minor leagues, which likely led to the front office’s choice to “wait it out” with him. But also, not in their defense, that decision couldn’t have turned out to be worse.

Kriske finished his Yankees career with a 15.09 ERA and 2.47 WHIP. He allowed 19 earned runs in 11.1 innings of work. His stint with the Orioles lasted four games, during which he allowed five earned runs in 3.2 innings. For his MLB career, he surrendered an impossible eight home runs in 15 innings … which came after he had just five on his ledger across 134.2 minor league innings!

How?!

Fans have every right to complain about this for quite a while. The Yankees’ scouting tactics saddled them with Kriske, while the Red Sox used Instagram to determine Whitlock would be a primary bullpen piece for them?

How does this stuff keep happening? While Kriske’s career inexplicably took a turn for the worse, the Yankees, who are big on analytics and peripheral stats, were somehow unable to pluck any warning signs out of the right-hander’s four-year stint in the minors? Maybe it was bad luck. Maybe it was incompetence. Either way, we’re sick of the ball bouncing so far in the other direction.

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