3 Yankees prospects Brian Cashman should still call up after Florial-Cabrera moves

2. Greg Weissert

No, Greg Weissert is not on the 40-man roster at the moment. But that needs to change this offseason if the Yankees are serious about fielding their best and deepest possible bullpen in 2023. So why not change things around now?

Here’s something that makes zero sense to me: Why wasn’t Weissert already Rule 5 Draft eligible if he was drafted by the Yanks in 2016? Regardless, he must be protected when the time comes. Weissert was already the type of arm a pitching-rich team like the Yankees typically loses in a standard offseason, and after his 2021 season (1.64 ERA, 60 Ks in 49.1 innings), he easily could’ve stuck elsewhere.

This season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has been even more dominant. Weissert has used his wipeout slider to strike out 65 batters in 44.2 innings pitched, maintaining an 0.92 WHIP in the process (22 hits, 19 walks). He’s converted 17 of 18 save opportunities, only getting tagged for three homers all year.

If Ron Marinaccio can do it straight out of the minors, emerging as a coveted back-end option out of nowhere as a 19th-round pick, then Weissert can surely do it as an 18th-rounder. Much of the focus remains on Stephen Ridings’ return (and rightly so, he’s a known quantity), but perhaps more energy should be directed Weissert’s way.

Or … less energy, if the Yankees want to not protect him and keep him a secret.