Yankees have chance to add familiar pitching depth after surprising Opening Day DFA

Adam Weinrib

Chicago Cubs Photo Day / Steph Chambers/GettyImages

When the New York Yankees traded from their pitching depth in order to obtain Cody Bellinger in December (and Devin Williams as well), they had no idea how desperately they'd need both Nestor Cortes Jr. and Cody Poteet by the time Opening Day rolled around.

Nestor will be back in the Bronx for the festivities this weekend, though he'll be wearing the uniform of the opposing team, the Milwaukee Brewers. Poteet? He could be back with the Yankees soon enough, if they're able to work out a small cash deal.

The Yankees and Cubs haggled for weeks over how much money New York would eat to import Bellinger (as Chicago tried to sneak Kyle Tucker onto their roster, which they ultimately accomplished). Eventually, the two sides settled on the Cubs paying down just $5 million, decreasing the potency of the prospect they received in exchange.

The Yankees sent Poteet, the change-of-pace righty, to complete the transaction after an injury-marred season where he posted a 2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 innings, allowing 18 hits and beguiling the eventual World Champion Dodgers in a showcase start in June.

Now, just three months later, Poteet has been DFA'd during the Cubs' Opening Day roster machinations. He might clear waivers, but the Yankees should get ahead of things and work out a small cash transaction to hop the line and acquire him.

The Cubs have DFA’d pitcher Cody Poteet who they acquired from the Yankees for Cody Bellinger.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) March 27, 2025

Yankees could add DFA'd right-hander Cody Poteet after Cubs' latest roster shuffle

Maybe they're happy with both Ryan Yarbrough and Brent Headrick, but three left-handers (two of whom are intended to provide bulk) seems less than ideal. Eventually, Tyler Matzek will probably be ready to replace Headrick, but ... are we sure we can guarantee that? He broke down with an injury as spring action started in February.

The Yankees are likely more focused on an Oswald Peraza replacement for one of their final bench spots, at the moment, after elevating a similar soft-tosser in Carlos Carrasco to their Opening Day rotation, and also adding Yarbrough after the Blue Jays foolishly let him walk. Still, it's hard to confidently claim the Yankees have "too much pitching" after scratching and clawing to get where they are today. It's worth poking around Poteet's situation after the Cubs couldn't protect him.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.