Yankees claim lefty pitcher from Twins and DFA former second-round pick

All of a sudden, the New York Yankees can quit lefty pitchers. Not too long ago, the bullpen had zero. And then Tim Hill re-signed to the relief of the entire fanbase. We're still wondering why that took so long.

But the Yanks didn't stop there. On Monday night, they signed former Braves World Series hero Tyler Matzek to a minor-league contract. The veteran lefty has missed a lot of time due to injuries but remains an intriguing low-risk, high-reward option.

Then, on Tuesday afternoon as pitchers and catchers were reporting to spring training, the Yankees claimed lefty Brent Headrick off waivers from the Minnesota Twins and designated righty Owen White for assignment to create room on the 40-man roster.

As for Headrick, he made his MLB debut in 2023 as a 25-year-old but had a rough go of it. He pitched in one MLB game last year and was limited to just seven minor league appearances due to a forearm injury that landed him on the 60-day IL.

Yankees News: New York swaps out Owen White for Brent Headrick

Headrick has minor-league options remaining and figures to be utilized as a reliever. Though most of his minor-league career has featured reps as a starter, he's never pitched more than 108 1/3 innings in a single season, and that was back in 2022. In 2023 he logged 75 and last year he recorded just 19 1/3.

He sports a three-pitch mix of a fastball, slider and changeup, which could be a nice change of pace in the bullpen. The former ninth-round pick out of Illinois State owns a 3.64 ERA and 1.28 WHIP with 332 strikeouts across 70 minor league games (269 1/3 innings).

It's unclear when Headrick actually hit waivers, though the Twins have welcomed in a number of players in recent days, including Danny Coulombe and Harrison Bader. Given his lack of contributions over the last couple of years and the injury concerns, it's easy to see why he was a roster casualty.

But all the more fun for Matt Blake, who has another possible reclamation project on his hands for the 2025 season.