3 relievers you forgot the Yankees signed who could make an impact in 2024

Yerry De Los Santos

Surely, Yerry De Los Santos didn't also come directly from the Pira -- HE DID?!

The 26-year-old hard-throwing right-hander is the easiest pick to click of the bunch considering it isn't even really clear why Pittsburgh dismissed him in the first place.

De Los Santos posted a 3.33 ERA in 24 1/3 big-league innings for last year's Pirates, allowing just a single home run and striking out 18 (and walking, yes, 13). He wasn't hittable, but he was prone to surrendering free passes. If he performed solidly at the big-league level, it stands to reason that he dominated the minor-league lev -- oh. Oh, I see here that he posted a 6.12 ERA, allowing 42 hits in 25 frames at Triple-A Indianapolis. What's ... all that about?

You don't have to look terribly far back to find minor-league dominance on De Los Santos' resume, but it's getting further in the rear view every day. Pre-pandemic, in 2019, he posted one of the all-time excellent relief seasons at Single-A Greensboro, whiffing 73 men in 50 innings, allowing just 32 hits and 12 free passes, and posting a 1.44 ERA as the Grasshoppers' primary closer.

Unfortunately, the fully realized version of the erratic De Los Santos hasn't looked quite as promising -- though, again, what are the PIRATES doing cutting bait on a hard-thrower who held his own last season (in the bigs, but certainly not at Triple-A). He might be the Yankees' most obvious redemption candidate ... which is exactly why it won't be him, but rather someone else entirely who doesn't appear on this list and hasn't even been signed yet.