Forgotten Yankees pitcher ends up in familiar place on injury report with Tigers

When you think of a classic New York Yankees trade blunder, one of the first names that has to come to mind is Scott Effross. In the grand scheme of things, he wasn't as impactful (in a negative way) as guys like Javier Vázquez, Sonny Gray, or Frankie Montas, but there was a certain smugness to Brian Cashman's giddiness at the years of control he acquired when he added Effross in exchange for a top 10 prospect.

Those oh so many years of control gave the Yankees just 26 2/3 innings over four years and a 5.06 ERA as Effross spent more time on the IL than off of it.

Because of all the stops and starts and time missed due to injury, the 32-year-old still has three years of team control left. That wasn't enough to save his career with the Yankees, as New York non-tendered him prior to the 40-man roster deadline this offseason. The Detroit Tigers scooped him up on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training, and got the full Effross experience.

The side-winder threw 2 2/3 innings with zero strikeouts, five walks, and a 13.50 ERA. Then he did what he's become most famous for in the Bronx: he got hurt.

The Tigers are living the Scott Effross experience, but Brian Cashman and the Yankees haven't learned their lesson

At a certain point, you have to feel bad for Effross. It's easy to make jokes and talk about what a waste that trade was, but it's important to remember that this is a guy who toiled for six years in the minors before finally making his big league debut, tasted success immediately, and whose body hasn't allowed him to replicate that for years now.

He's simply trying to hold onto his career now, and with each new malady, the chances of him sticking around become more and more bleak.

You'd think the Yankees would have learned from the Effross experience, but they really haven't. While they haven't acquired any chronically injured pitchers since Effross, they've used the same logic to make trades for relievers.

Cashman loves his years of team control, which explains why he went after the likes of Jake Bird and Camilo Doval at last year's deadline. Those pitchers both came with years of team control, but failed to make an impact with the Yankee bullpen that was already faltering in the second half of 2025.

Rather than focus on acquiring premium talent in the bullpen, this has been Cashman's preferred method of operation, and the results have been bad.

Until Cashman learns how to prioritize performance over cheap control, we'll continue to see the same thing happen as if the ghost of Scott Effross is roaming the Yankee Stadium halls. For all of our sakes, let's hope that he sees this news and attacks the bullpen in a different way when New York will assuredly need reinforcements at this year's trade deadline.