Report: Ryan Yarbrough, Yankees Agree to Contract After Blue Jays Exit

Veteran relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough agreed to a contract with the New York Yankees, according to FanSided's Robert Murray.

Jorge Castillo reported the deal is worth $2 million guaranteed with another $500,000 incentives.

This comes after the southpaw reportedly opted out of a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, having failed to make the cut for their Opening Day squad.

Yarbrough made 44 appearances for the Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024. He posted a 3.19 ERA and a 4.64 FIP across 98.2 innings. According to Baseball Savant, his walk rate (8.0 percent) matched his career high at the same time his strikeout rate (16.3 percent) was a career low.

The 33-year-old has never relied on overpowering stuff. Neither his fastball nor his sinker has averaged 90 mph over a full season. Still, he has consistently finished near the top of the leaderboard in opponent exit velocity and hard-hit rate.

Yarbrough may not whiff a lot of batters, but they've struggled to get good lumber on the ball.

His tendency to invite contact will become an even bigger problem, though if his strikeout and walk numbers from 2024 are the beginning of a trend. His .212 opponent batting average on balls in play was also well below his career average (.279), per FanGraphs, so he could see some regression in that area.

Yarbrough's flexibility likely played a big role in the Yankees bringing him aboard. He has started 68 MLB games, and he's capable of going multiple innings in a relief role. Six of his outings last season went four or more frames.

Manager Aaron Boone can use Yarbrough as a spot starter, short-inning reliever, or long relief option to follow an opener depending on what the situation requires.

Ace Gerrit Cole is out for the season, while Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt are unavailable to open the year. Managing the starting rotation is already a challenge for Boone, so Yarbrough supplies some needed depth.