BN: Yarbrough Returns for 2026
- SSTN Admin
- 17 hours ago
- 3 min read
Breaking News: Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal announced that LHP Ryan Yarbrough has agreed on a 1-year deal to return to the Bronx in 2026.
About Ryan Yarbrough:
While pitching at Old Dominion University, Yarbrough was drafted in the 20th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. However, Yarbrough opted to stay in college for another year and was rewarded by getting drafted in the 4th round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners, and signed.
After three years in the Mariners farm system, moving from Rookie ball to Double-A, Yarbrough was part of an offseason package to acquire Drew Smyly from the Tampa Bay Rays in January of 2017. He would spend the whole 2017 season at Triple-A Durham, and was promoted to the Tampa Bay Rays MLB roster for the 2018 season. Yarbrough became an everyday roster play for the Rays as a long relief/spot-starter for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2018-2022 before becoming a free agent.
Ahead of the 2023 season, Yarbrough signed a deal with the Kansas City Royals and then was dealt at the trade deadline to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The next season, he was traded again at the trade deadline from the Dodgers to the Toronto Blue Jays for Kevin Kiermaier. That offseason, he became a free agent and signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays in late February 2025 with a spring training invite. Ultimately, he was released a month later at the end of of spring training and the next day signed a similar deal with the New York Yankees, who kept him through the rest of the 2025 season.
During the 2025 season, though Ryan Yarbrough missed about two months of time while dealing with a right oblique strain, he pitched in 18 games for the Yankees in that long-relief/spot starter role with 8 starts and 11 relief appearances. In those games, he pitched 64.0 innings to a 4.36 ERA (94 ERA+) along with allowing 58 hits, 19 walks, and collecting 55 strikeouts. Ultimately, he was worth +0.6 bWAR.
Reports now indicate the Yankees are bringing him back for the 2026 season.
Quick Thoughts:
A team can never have enough pitching, and the Yankees are a team that will be desperate for starting arms come the beginning of the 2026 season. As of now, the Yankees will be without Gerrit Cole (recovering from Tommy John surgery), Carlos Rodon (recovering from elbow surgery), and Clarke Schmidt (also recovering from TJS). This leaves Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Luis Gil needing a fifth man.
For the time being, and with the expectation that this contract will be cheap, Ryan Yarbrough is not a bad option. For now, this takes the Yankees out of "panic mode" to acquire another starting pitcher. Having that peace of mind is a nice consideration in the immediate moment.
However, if this signing of Ryan Yarbrough is the Yankees way of not being big players in the starting pitching free agent and/or trade markets, then this is a disaster. Given how the likes of Paul Skenes (unlikely, but nothing is impossible) and Tarik Skubal (and some not-as-interesting others) can be made available in trades, the Yankees should be talking. A healthy rotation of Skubal-Fried-Rodon-Cole-whoever is scary. A rotation of Skenes-Skubal-Fried-Rodon-Cole is maybe the best of all time.
Trades are fickle, however, and require needing to meet the needs of an entire organization. In the free agent market, all the Yankees need to convince is the player (and his agent). Thus, other options like Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, and Tatsuya Imai could all be had for just money.
Ryan Yarbrough is a fine depth piece. Ryan Yarbrough is a fine spot starter. Ryan Yarbrough is a fine long-reliever. I am happy with all of those options.
Ryan Yarbrough is not Paul Skenes, or Tarik Skubal, or Tatsuya Imai, or Dylan Cease. If this is the end of the Yankees bringing in/back starting pitchers, something went horribly wrong.
