Yankees might've uncovered crafty lefty in latest sneaky minor-league pickup

The Yankees let a wave of minor-league free agents loose this past weekend, then took a step towards replenishing their Triple-A reserves.

And while you might be inclined to shrug off this particular move -- and history may end up being on your side -- just recall that you probably did the same with Luke Weaver's guarantee last winter, and he just closed out a trip to the World Series.

On Saturday, the Yankees announced the signing of left-hander Brandon Leibrandt, who'd been sent into free agency and outrighted off the Reds' 40-man roster a few weeks prior.

Terry Francona may not have cared for the crafty lefty, but the Yankees decidedly lacked impact left-handers in the bullpen this past summer, taking a way-too-long flyer on Tim Mayza and carrying him through the entire postseason. Liebrandt may not light up the radar gun, but his changeup likely has Matt Blake thinking a little deeper ahead of spring training.

Yankees sign left-hander Brandon Leibrandt, formerly of the Reds

Leibrandt's latest look with the Reds came after he dominated with the High Point Rockers in unaffiliated ball, posting a 2.70 ERA in 80 innings the past two years.

While his heater won't open any currently-closed eyes, his changeup tunnels nicely with the offering, logging the third-highest whiff rate of any minor-league change thrown in parks with Statcast tracking this summer. And if that won't get your juices flowing, we don't know what will!

Bottom line? Leibrandt is a pure flyer and, yes, is the youngest son of former MLB pitcher Charlie Leibrandt, well known for his time with the Braves. The former sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies will have some work to do to turn himself into a valued commodity with the big-league Yankees, but a preseason rejuvenation could have him in line to make spot starts, much the way Cody Poteet and his baffling slow stuff did last season.

Leibrandt does have a career minor-league ERA of 3.66 in a substantial sample of 641 2/3 innings. Don't say we didn't warn you about his change when Blake's making him the next Lucas Luetge (traded for Caleb Durbin after being maximized, for what it's worth).