Lefty Yarbrough finalizes Minor League deal with Blue Jays
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DUNEDIN, Fla. -- It took a while, but the Blue Jays have finally made the move that¡¯s felt obvious all along, agreeing to a Minor League deal with an invite to Spring Training with lefty Ryan Yarbrough on Friday.
Yarbrough and the Blue Jays immediately made sense for one another when he landed with the Blue Jays at the 2024 Trade Deadline, brought over from the Dodgers for Kevin Kiermaier. Now, Kiermaier is back in camp with the Blue Jays as a special assistant and Yarbrough will have a clear shot at cracking the Opening Day roster.
¨ªThe Blue Jays already knew Yarbrough well from his time coming up with the Rays from 2018-22, but his two months with the organization last summer captured the best version of the 33-year-old. Yarbrough is a rubber arm, capable of bouncing back and forth between the bullpen or rotation and chewing through chunks of innings at a time, no matter when they come. He gave the Blue Jays a 2.01 ERA down the stretch, bringing his season ERA down to 3.19 over 98 2/3 innings. Frankly, it¡¯s surprising the Blue Jays are able to add him on a Minor League deal here.
¡°The luxury of Yarbs is that he¡¯s very equipped to do a lot of things and he¡¯s done that for a number of years,¡± manager John Schneider said. ¡°He knows how to get himself ready for that. You trust that, you lean into that and then you can tweak how you¡¯re going to use Yariel [Rodr¨ªguez]. You don¡¯t want to have too many guys waiting to throw some length and then wear out other guys.¡±
Yarbrough became an immediate favorite of Schneider, as he helped the Blue Jays get through some difficult stretches down the stretch without burning more arms than they needed to. There will still be competition in camp, but Yarbrough should have the inside track on that same role in 2025.
YARBROUGH¡¯S IMMEDIATE FIT
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Imagine, for a moment, that the Blue Jays¡¯ rotation gets through camp healthy and everything bounces the way they are hoping in the bullpen. That¡¯s a fantasy, but it¡¯s a starting point.
Yarbrough gives the Blue Jays a second lefty alongside Brendon Little, leaving Richard Lovelady, Easton Lucas, Josh Walker, Eric Lauer and Mason Fluharty to compete for positions on the depth chart. Yarbrough has always been a little tougher on lefties, but his splits were downright dominant in 2024. Yarbrough held them to a .120 average with a .387 OPS, and given that he can hold his own against righties, Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker could find some stretches of opposing lineups for Yarbrough to chew through. Think of a run of three lefties with a righty in the middle, for example.
Part of Yarbrough¡¯s appeal will always be his ability to pitch multiple innings, though. If the Blue Jays need a spot start -- or a starter gets shelled in the first inning -- Yarbrough could be the man who steps in now, leaving Yariel Rodríguez to potentially stay in a more consistent role.
WHAT COULD THIS MEAN FOR RODR?GUEZ?
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Rodr¨ªguez could still be anyone coming out of camp, from a starter to a long reliever. We also know, from his time pitching in Japan, that he can be shortened up and maxed out for high leverage spots. If everything goes well and Yarbrough breaks camp with the team, this should only allow the Blue Jays to be more aggressive with where they think Rodr¨ªguez can be most valuable.
Some pitchers can thrive in that swingman role, Yarbrough being the poster boy. For many, it¡¯s a challenge. We¡¯ve seen how Bowden Francis has flourished since he stopped bouncing back and forth and finally embraced a permanent role in the rotation. Perhaps some certainty will benefit Rodr¨ªguez, too, regardless of where that comes.