The opportunistic New York Yankees grabbed up a former brand-name bullpen piece in Trevor Rosenthal, adding him on a minors deal.
Trevor Rosenthal looks like he forgot how to pitch after Tommy John surgery caused him to miss all of 2018. However, the New York Yankees apparently believe they can trigger his memory and help him regain his All-Star form.
By all accounts, baseball writer Andersen Pickard informed the world of New York’s latest signing:
The New York #Yankees are signing reliever Trevor Rosenthal to a minor league deal, a league source tells me.
— Andersen Pickard (@AndersenPickard) August 20, 2019
The former St. Louis Cardinal’s resume boasts consecutive years with 45+ saves; in 2015 he was an All-Star with the Cardinals and even garnered NL MVP votes, per Baseball Reference.
He has a proven track record, with a career 3.46 ERA with 121 sales and 452 strikeouts in 340.1 innings pitched. Unfortunately, his unsuccessful return from surgery has all but erased those numbers.
Rosenthal has already tried his luck with the Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers in 2019. Perhaps the third time’s the charm with the Bombers.
In Washington, Rosenthal put up numbers bloated enough to cause even the nearby legislators and their ballooning national debt to blush. The righty hurler pitched to a 22.74 ERA with a ridiculous 15 walks and three hit batsmen in 6.1 innings.
The Nationals gave up on the 29-year-old in late June, but he had a new gig with the Tigers by Jul. 15. Detroit also dropped him after he contributed a 7.00 ERA with 11 walks and another HBP in nine frames.
There’s reason for Yankees fans to hope, though.
Despite his mammoth struggles, Rosenthal has not allowed a single homer. He’s always been a guy who keeps the ball in the park, with only 17 dingers surrendered in 350 career games.
He also struck out 12 batters in his nine innings tossed as a Tiger. That matches his career 12 SO/9 rate.
If Rosenthal can find the plate in the minors, he might get a shot in the Bronx with the September call-ups. Who knows, he may even have a chance at a postseason roster spot.
