Former hated Yankees reliever dumped by new team after brutal comeback bid

The New York Yankees went to the Albert Abreu well far too many times while the right-hander was in pinstripes, acquiring him twice and rarely reaping the rewards.

After coming over in the Brian McCann trade, he was armed with a 100 MPH heater that began to take on a legendary quality the less we saw of it. Abreu's first abbreviated stint came in 2020, but he got his first real run with the club in 2021, posting a 5.15 ERA in 36 2/3 innings, striking out 35 men in medium leverage and tantalizing the Yankees just enough to be noteworthy.

Wisely, they flipped him for Jose Trevino prior to the 2022 season. Unwisely, Brian Cashman brought him back that summer following a pair of DFAs at the hands of the Rangers and Royals. They just couldn't quit him; Cashman loves to be a savior to distressed assets, especially those he deemed worthy of acquisition five years prior. And it worked! He posted a 3.16 ERA that summer, a year where everything worked until it didn't.

The next year, the walls caved in. Abreu's 4.73 ERA in a remarkable 59 innings represents his most recent big-league action to date. He spent the 2024 season pitching in Japan and doing a fine job for the Seibu Lions. He spent this offseason floating in limbo between the two countries, only for the Reds to finally pluck him up, keep him behind in extended spring training, and give him another chance.

He wasn't returning as a high-profile diamond-in-the-rough like Merrill Kelly or Miles Mikolas, though. He was returning with reclamation still hanging in the balance.

It didn't work. The Reds finally released him this week after the old college try resulted in a 5.79 ERA at Triple-A Louisville. Now ... will the Yankees dare execute a third return engagement?

Former Yankees reliever Albert Abreu leaves Cincinnati Reds' system after brutal comeback bid

Abreu struck out 18 Triple-A hitters. He walked 16. In his spring training showcase, he somehow managed to K just a single one of the 27 batters he faced. With his natural heater, his portfolio should look so much deeper. That's always been his problem. The stuff is incongruous with the results. It didn't change after a year away from MLB. It probably never will.

Of course, Brian Cashman might decide he just can't quit him anyway.