Yankees insider reveals sudden optimistic turn in Luke Weaver reunion chase

All of a sudden, it seems Brian Cashman's Winter Meetings interview where he mourned the Yankees losing "Devin and Weaver" might've just been a simple slip of the tongue after all.

Luke Weaver, the 2024 postseason's Ferocious Jungle Cat, ended the 2025 season in distress. He was more than likely felled by a hamstring injury that he never quite mechanically recovered from. When he returned, he turned in more flat performances and hanging changeups than he had previously. Any hope of fully righting the ship disappeared closer to October, when Weaver became terrifyingly unusable; he faced seven batters, and recorded one playoff out. It seemed like some form of pitch-tipping fiasco led to a functional disappearance of his comfort. Whatever the root cause, it seemed likelier than not that someone other than the Yankees would pay to figure it out.

Add on Weaver's desire to try to return to starting pitching (if a team was willing to experiment along with him), and it's no wonder Cashman's offhand declaration felt like a fact.

Suddenly, though, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic helped turn the Weaver tide on Tuesday. According to Kirschner, 10 teams have been in contact with Weaver thus far to varying degrees, but "no teams" are viewing him as a starting pitcher.

That leaves a Yankees reunion as distinctly possible, especially with options like Robert Suarez and Ryan Helsley off the board. "In fact," Kirschner writes (subscription required), "the Yankees have expressed 'genuine' interest in re-signing Weaver, according to a league source, and the 32-year-old reliever would be interested in rejoining New York. Talks between the Yankees and Weaver are not far along."

New York Yankees and Luke Weaver may have genuine interest in a reunion

While Weaver would represent a relentless dedication to the Yankees' pattern of bringing back familiar faces rather than branching out, it would be really hard to say anything bad about a two-year reunion on a reasonable deal. If Weaver's market has ballooned outside of the Yankees' desired range, then more power to him. It seems plausible, though, that if Kirschner is writing about the two sides reconciling, it hasn't reached an uncomfortable point and may, in fact, be somewhat discouraging.

Despite the bumps and bruises, the eccentric and electric Weaver still posted a 1.021 WHIP last year and struck out 72 men in 64 2/3 innings. Relievers are inherently volatile, but Weaver's volatility seems directly tied to his injury and the resulting mechanical discomfort; before the issue, he had an excellent 2.65 FIP.

If that's the Weaver the Yankees are negotiating with, it's a clear steal. If it's a lesser version, a contract still seems unlikely to be financially painful.