Yankees finally give forgotten acquisition a shot in roster move after nightmare loss

The New York Yankees' offense hasn't scored a run for one of their starting pitchers since last Wednesday in Kansas City, when Clarke Schmidt received the kind of run support that's rarer than a steak at 4 Charles. In order to reverse that trend, the Yankees are ... well, no, actually, they're shuffling around their pitching staff. Nothing to see here in the ol' lineup and bench!

Objectively, the Yankees could use a spark on the offensive side of the ball, but that ticking clock is merely metaphorical. On the flip side, the front office was facing an actual expiring countdown this week in terms of a decision on JT Brubaker, whose rehab was set to expire.

The Yankees acquired Brubaker last spring, allowing him to rehab from Tommy John surgery on their watch and hopefully setting up a glorious 2025 return. Unfortunately, the schedule hit another unexpected snag when he suffered broken ribs on a spring training comebacker play, knocking him out of action until mid-May.

In all, the 31-year-old's minor-league rehab work went splendidly; he maintained an 0.89 WHIP and 2.95 ERA across 21 1/3 innings (six starts) at three levels of the minors. His Triple-A work was his sloppiest (4.63 ERA in three games), but the Yankees still determined it was enough to justify the fruits of their medical team's labor getting a big-league shot.

After Tuesday's third straight bleak shutout, the Yankees demoted Scott Effross, who's now fallen below the rung of "last man in the bullpen" (and we can certainly talk about that later). They're promoting Brubaker to take his spot and presumably join Yerry de los Santos in the middle innings, effectively and efficiently managing blowout wins/losses to the finish line.

Yankees activate right-hander JT Brubaker to soak up some innings, demote Scott Effross as offense still searches for spark

As for the offense? Jesús Rodríguez is right there, hitting .326 with an .822 OPS at Triple-A while floating in and out of third base; he's currently on the 40-man roster as well.

Who knows? Maybe Brubaker can put in a good word. Regardless, the desperate need for offense will take a back seat Wednesday to the clanging "Rehab's Over!" bell, and someone who fought extra hard to return to an MLB mound will get a chance to do so in pinstripes.