Yankees swipe intriguing lefty prospect from Red Sox after tough Triple-A transition

While the Red Sox hope to spin erratic reliever Greg Weissert and polished pitching prospect Richard Fitts, formerly of the Yankees, into Garrett Whitlock-shaped gold, the Yanks have snidely swiped away a former Bostonian lefty as partial payback.

Oddanier Mosqueda, formerly of the Red Sox organization and most recently of Triple-A Worcester, agreed to a minor-league pact with the Yankees on Monday and announced it on his personal Instagram.

Though New York's pitching depth was thinned out at the upper levels by the Juan Soto trade, they oddly lost mostly big-league arms rather than Triple-A pitchers. Mitch Spence leaving in the Rule 5 Draft plundered that area far more than any offseason dealings thus far -- and Edgar Barclay surprisingly remaining unclaimed means the Yankees can pair Mosqueda with another nasty, strikeout-collecting lefty as both pitchers attempt to get back on track.

Yankees take chance on former Red Sox prospect Oddanier Mosqueda

Mosqueda's 11.13 K/9 obviously sticks out, and even in his difficult season at Triple-A last summer, his strikeout-inducing ability didn't desert him; he still racked up 74 Ks in 61 innings pitched. It was the control that flew the coop, as Mosqueda walked 39 men, nearly double the total of most of his previous seasons (though he did walk 25 in 47 innings in 2021).

2023 represented his first full-season WHIP over 1.25, his first full-season ERA above 4.30, and his first genuine stumbling block after his Double-A season in 2022 showed the first signs of adjustment troubles. After never allowing more than four homers in a season, he allowed nine at Double-A and 10 in 2023.

Still, Mosqueda continued to miss bats, even in the high minors, and has never allowed more hits than innings pitched in a season since graduating from rookie ball. Even as the rest of his game regressed, he held Triple-A batters in an inflated offensive environment to a .231 BAA.

The Yankees need innings eaters, and Mosqueda should pair nicely with Barclay and Matt Krook at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Whether he earns a spot on the shuttle or not is anyone's guess.