Yankees somehow get value for reliever they never should've kept in trade with Angels

When the New York Yankees made the Cody Bellinger signing official, a number of roster moves followed. It was mostly housekeeping involving non-essential pieces and guys who were acquired weeks or days ago, but one name that was with the team last year got the boot.

That would be Jayvien Sandridge, the left-handed reliever who spent the entirety of the 2025 campaign on the 40-man roster. He made one absolutely objectionable appearance against the Mets in a tightly contested game that ended in a 12-6 defeat for the Bombers after Sandridge surrendered two earned runs on a hit and two walks.

The Yankees were trailing 7-5 heading into the inning. Scott Effross (why was he in the game, too?) surrendered a run to make it 8-5. Then Sandridge surrendered a three-run homer to make it 11-5. Game over. Inspiring way to wave the white flag.

We're not sure what the Yankees saw in the 26-year-old, either. He dealt with horrible walk issues and had a volatile minor league career, which explains his 4.55 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in 34 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Sandridge was DFA'd on Jan. 27 and traded to the Angels on Thursday ... just a day after Anaheim also traded for the DFA'd Kaleb Ort. They got cash for both of these guys?!

Yankees trade Jayvien Sandridge and Kaleb Ort to Angels in a matter of two days

Though the Yankees paid cash for Ort after claiming him from the Astros, the veteran right-hander marked an important checkpoint in the offseason on Jan. 9 — he was the first player with MLB experience they added to the 40-man roster who wasn't with the team in 2025. Why are we writing about this?

The lone silver lining here is that the Yankees are clearing out the 40-man fodder that doesn't serve them. For as frustrated as everybody was with Brian Cashman's nonsensical comments about "running it back" on Wednesday, the Yankees are, at the very least, trying to add more meaningful depth.

Are we floored by the additions of Ryan Weathers, Angel Chivilli, Cade Winquest and Dom Hamel? No. But it's better than continuing to keep unusable options on what this organization believes is a "championship-caliber" roster.

And, yeah, we'll take the cash too after learning of Cody Bellinger's luxury tax hit for 2026.