Recently-traded Yankees lefty is back to square one after Dodgers DFA

It really felt like the Yankees had pulled a fast one on the Houston Astros when they took advantage of their rivals' Josh Hader signing and picked up the left-handed reliever who was DFA'd as the corresponding move.

Unfortunately, the Yankees' claim of Matt Gage was only the beginning of the lefty's turbulent offseason journey; all he's done so far is stick around in one place just long enough for Photo Day.

Gage was sent from the Yankees to the Dodgers in exchange for Caleb Ferguson, paired roughly with LA's Ryan Brasier signing to achieve roster balance.

Instead of getting a chance to make a significant impression in the Dodgers' patchwork bullpen, though, Gage found himself again serving as the corresponding move, though this time for a lower-impact addition than Hader.

The Dodgers took a chance on former Reds top prospect and recent Mariner Taylor Trammell on Tuesday afternoon, plugging the outfielder onto the active roster while Jason Heyward awaits finality on his back injury. Gage wasn't quite the last one in -- that was Nabil Crismatt or Dinelson Lamet -- and he wasn't the first one out, either (Crismatt was DFA'd quicker). Still, he's gone once more.

Former Yankees lefty Matt Gage DFA'd by Dodgers

Do you even qualify as a "former Yankees lefty" if you don't make it to spring training? Isn't that what Ippei Mizuhara just got in trouble for claiming about Hideki Okajima? We digress.

In 19 2/3 career big-league innings across two seasons (in Houston and Toronto), Gage has always created an intriguing amount of swing-and-miss with a less-than-impressive fastball. A few ticks more, and he'd probably be sticking on a big-league roster. Still, 20 Ks in 19 2/3 innings with a career 1.83 ERA feels like nothing to sneeze at, even though teams continue to sneeze at it, somethings multiple times in a single month.

Who knows? Maybe Gage will find his way back to the Yankees once again; they did just take a chance on Jake Cousins out of nowhere. Maybe it's the Astros; the weekend series probably convinced Jim Crane to take a second look at the bullpen. Maybe it's the Blue Jays? Hell, they used IKF in Monday's blowout/no-hitter combo.

There's no shortage of reunions that make sense for Gage after he was unceremoniously shown the door too soon again on Tuesday.