Yankees sign 2021 breakout reliever after awful 2022, elbow surgery

Less than 24 hours after inking hometown boy James Norwood, the Yankees have tossed a life raft to another potentially interesting relief option for pitching coach Matt Blake to tinker with — presuming he’s willing to wait.

Former Cincinnati Reds hurler Art Warren will join the Yankees on a minor-league deal to begin the 2023 season after the progress he made in 2021 spun off the rails a bit in his sophomore campaign.

Warren, who will turn 30 years old before Opening Day, distinguished himself in 26 games (six finished) during the 2021 season in Cincy. Though he walked eight men in 21 innings pitched, he allowed just 11 hits and three earned runs, striking out 34 batters; that was good for a 1.29 ERA and 1.84 FIP.

Sadly, to say he was “unable to repeat those numbers in 2022” would be an understatement. Warren’s Reds scraped the bottom of the NL Central barrel as he posted a 6.50 ERA in 39 games, striking out 40 batters in 36 innings (good!) while allowing six homers, walking 22, and sporting an unsightly 1.639 WHIP. On top of all that progress, it seems quite likely that Warren will miss the 2023 season following elbow surgery.

But besides that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

Yankees sign former Reds reliever Art Warren to minor-league deal

Not the reliable “Warren” Yankee fans have come to expect trotting in from the bullpen, but at the very least, Art Warren has a chance to be the next Sal Romano.

In 2024.

The Yankees, for now, will take the 2023 season to work with Warren in their very own Gas Station in Tampa, FL, as they try to rival the Dodgers’ pitching lab on the other coast. Are you, by any chance, a “Cressey Guy,” Art? If not, no better time than the present to become one. Get used to him. You’ll be ordering Chipotle for two next spring and summer.

As fans wait with bated breath for Carlos Rodón to make a decision, at least they know the Yankees will leave no stone unturned in their search for bounce-back relievers who might be able to contribute some time between May and 2025.