Yankees player you completely forgot about is helping fuel Brewers' ridiculous surge

The New York Yankees finally — finally — found an outfield mix that works in 2025, with Trent Grisham emerging as one of the clutchest Bombers in years and Cody Bellinger proving to be an essential glue guy/Aaron Judge assistant (don't ask about left field).

But for years — again, years — the Yankees dealt with injuries by trotting out unacceptable depth pieces like Willie Calhoun, Billy McKinney, Tim Locastro, and Miguel Andújar in a left field experiment for the ages. In 2024, they started Alex Verdugo relentlessly, even as they were hammered over the head with below-average results.

And yet, in all that scrambling, they never figured out Blake Perkins, who made his Major League debut with the 2023 Milwaukee Brewers, but spent 2022 with the Somerset Patriots and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in the Yankees' system.

Lurking somewhere nebulous below the 40-man roster, Perkins posted an .813 OPS that summer after coming over from the Royals' system, with 12 of his 15 home runs coming at the Double-A level. When he departed for the Brewers during the 2022-23 offseason, seeking an MLB opportunity, very few Yankee fans (if any) batted an eye.

Who'd have thunk that Milwaukee, an organization that manages to get the best out of everyone they touch (during the regular season, at least), would turn Perkins into something valuable, too?

Former New York Yankees outfielder Blake Perkins helping to key Milwaukee Brewers' surge

The speedy Perkins didn't immediately become a key piece in Milwaukee, but remained a bench cog for much of the 2023 and 2024 seasons, playing in 67 and 121 games, respectively. He's an excellent defender in center field with an impressive arm, which helped him rack up 1.1 and 1.8 bWAR in those two years, despite below-average offense (never an OPS+ above 85).

Perkins was nearly robbed of the 2025 season before it even began, fracturing his shin with a foul ball during spring training, and only returning after the All-Star break. And ... well, that's when it's all come together, against all odds.

The Yankees ex-pat stole the spotlight with a walk-off on July 27 against the Marlins (that staved off a sweep), then again was directly responsible for a victory over the Mets last week, when he gunned down the tying run at the plate for the game's final out (on a throw that looked shockingly casual).

Of all recent seasons, 2025 is the year where the Yankees could've used Perkins the least. But watching Brewers manager Pat Murphy get choked up after Perkins' walk-off because of what he's fought through and what their relationship means to the team's success feels totally alien, given how little Perkins was considered in New York under Boone. Who wouldn't want to be a Brewer these days?

Outrage machine? Sure. Of course. Guilty as charged. But Perkins represents yet another example of the Yankees failing to give Aaron Judge the best supporting cast and depth they could've. Given how many levers they had to pull just to keep up in 2022, it's kind of amazing they didn't land on Perkins by accident.