3 recently cut players who'd be perfect last-minute fits on Yankees roster

The New York Yankees "finalized" their big-league bullpen (in the thickest possible scare quotes) on Sunday afternoon, demoting Wilking Rodriguez to minor-league camp. The Yankees can enter Opening Day with a duo of semi-unknowns behind Yoendrys Gomez while they wait for Ian Hamilton to get ready ... or they could add a more familiar name. Typically, that's how they roll.

Combine the "finished" bullpen picture with the recent series of public desperation heaves in the search for a right-handed bat, and it seems clear the Yankees will be scoping out any and all available non-roster invitees as the Opening Day roster decks shuffle across the league.

More dominos will drop throughout the day hurtling towards Thursday, so watch this space. As of Monday morning, though, these three pieces who fell into waiver purgatory would be solid fits for the Yankees (either as claims or outright signings).

Honorable Mention: Brandon Drury. Ignore his ill-conceived tenure with the 2018 Yankees, when he was obtained and forgot to inform anyone he was suffering from debilitating vision issues (or, at least, New York didn't seem to know). He's gone on to a solid career, and after a brutal 2024 (.169 with a .470 OPS with the Angels), he remade his swing and hit .410 this spring with career-changing exit velocities. So ... why is he available? Well, he fractured his thumb, threw off the White Sox plans, and hit the wire. If not for the injury ... he'd be perfect.

Dishonorable Mention: This is a perfunctory mention of Mitch Haniger, who'd be an intriguing fourth outfielder, but is in the final season of a three-year, $43.5 million deal. He's three seasons removed from being above-average offensively, and the Yankees likely have no interest in paying double price (because of the tax) to obtain him. There are better uses of their limited funds.

3 recently dumped players Yankees should add to roster before Opening Day

Adam Ottavino

The 39-year-old Brooklyn native might not have any MLB rope left, but the Yankees should attempt to find out after he got squeezed off Boston's roster and entered free agency rather than the Triple-A Worcester mix.

The Yankees dealt Ottavino to Boston in the final year of his three-year contract (2021), and it wasn't too long ago that he put up back-to-back seasons with 2.06 and 3.21 ERAs in 66 games per year for the crosstown Mets. Odds are, Ottavino's trademark frisbee breaker has lost the correct amount of velocity differentiation from his heater. He was plagued by control issues, walking five and allowing six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings this spring with Boston.

Of course, he also struck out right men. Is there a higher potential he'll be valuable, or Yerry De Los Santos will be undeniable? Regardless, this wouldn't be a significant commitment for New York; they could cut bait quickly if needed.

Ryan Yarbrough

Yarbrough, a craftier-than-crafty lefty who always seemed to bedevil the Yankees for innings at a time as a member of the Rays, was informed on Sunday that he wouldn't be making the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster, allowing him to opt out and hit the open market.

The Dodgers obviously thought highly enough of Yarbs to nab him at the 2023 trade deadline, and he posted a 3.74 ERA in 67 1/3 innings in 2024 (with a ticking time bomb 5.17 FIP) before ending up in Toronto, where he dominated (2.01 ERA/3.49 FIP in 31 1/3 innings with a sparkling 0.798 WHIP).

Yarbrough has often been deployed as an innings eater/swingman starter throughout his career, and if the Yankees don't employ him for too many high-leverage opportunities, he could be a Lucas Luetge-type pickup/bullpen saver. Does he have more swing-and-miss potential than any of the players they're carrying, though?

Dane Dunning

While the Yankees wait for Clarke Schmidt to return, they'll be trotting out Marcus Stroman/Will Warren/Carlos Carrasco to complete their rotation. Dane Dunning, placed on waivers by the Rangers and free for either claiming or a small deal to preempt the waiver process, is only two seasons removed from a 3.70 ERA in 172 2/3 innings in the rotation of the World Series champions. Odd, to say the least.

He was terrible this spring (8.18 ERA in 11 frames), but with the Yankees as desperate for viable rotation depth as they've ever been, they seemingly should be prioritizing a player like Dunning on their staff over a short reliever like De Los Santos, given the opportunity.

There's no way they'd win a waiver claim on Dunning, giving the amount of teams in dire straits for pitching depth at the bottom of the standings. Still, maybe they could dangle something mildly intriguing in the direction of the Rangers and get them to call the whole thing off.