On the day of the All-MLB awards?! Come on, Yankees! Just kidding, we’ll take anything at this point, especially since we know we’re in for the long haul as Scott Boras and Juan Soto completely control the free agent market.
New York has made some small moves so far and will likely continue to do so before the floodgates open for bigger signings. Brian Cashman and the front office have their nose to the ground as they look for more diamond-in-the-rough pitching candidates.
On Thursday, the Yankees signed former Mets prospect Jordany Ventura to a minor-league contract. The right-hander was cut loose by the Mets as injuries once again limited his ability to perform.
But the Yankees are ones to roll the dice on candidates like these, especially since Ventura’s transition to a relief role showed some promise in 2024. His heater touches 96 MPH and he managed to strike out 55 batters across 48 2/3 innings.
Perhaps his best attribute is his ability to limit contact — especially hard contact — which is something the Yankees’ relief corps struggled with this past year. His 6.9 H/9 and 0.5 HR/9 cannot be ignored.
Yankees News: NYY signs former Mets prospect Jordany Ventura
Ventura debuted for the Mets organization back in 2018 after signing an international free agent contract, but never was able to catch on. He saw 15 games in 2019 before losing an entire year to the pandemic. Then, he needed Tommy John surgery, which knocked him out for all of 2021 and limited him to just four starts in 2022.
In total, he’s appeared in 69 professional games with just five of those coming in Double-A (the highest level he’s reached). The 24-year-old has plenty of work to do in order to latch on as a fringe 40-man roster bullpen asset, but it seems he might already have a bit of an advantage coming off a promising end to his 2024 campaign.
The Mets want to steal one of our pitching coaches? Go right ahead. Matt Blake runs the lab in the Bronx, and the best revenge would be for him to maximize Ventura in a way the Mets never could.
