Yoendrys Gomez’s debut with Dodgers underscores Yankees’ costly misjudgment.
NEW YORK — It didn’t take long for Yoendrys Gomez to prove just how badly the New York Yankees might have miscalculated.
After being designated for assignment last week to clear space for veteran Tyler Matzek, the 25-year-old right-hander was snapped up by the Los Angeles Dodgers — and immediately showed the upside the Yankees gambled away.
On Sunday, Gomez tossed three dominant, scoreless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing just four hits while striking out four to secure his first save of the season in a 5-1 Dodgers win. It was a clear message from Gomez: the Yankees’ loss is Los Angeles’ gain.
Yankees let upside go for experience
The decision to cut Gomez wasn’t driven by poor performance. Instead, it was about a roster crunch. After a string of short starts drained their bullpen, the Yankees needed a fresh arm. With Matzek ready to return from an oblique injury, they opted for veteran experience over a young arm with upside.
Yet Gomez’s early results show why that decision could haunt New York. In his combined work with the Yankees and Dodgers this season, Gomez has allowed just one earned run over his last six innings. For the year, he holds a sharp 2.08 ERA and 1.38 WHIP with 13 strikeouts across 8.2 innings pitched.
Letting a young, controllable arm with swing-and-miss stuff and growing durability walk for free — especially one capable of multiple innings — looks increasingly reckless with each outing Gomez makes in Dodger blue.
A talent Yankees once believed in
Gomez wasn’t an unknown commodity. The right-hander once ranked as high as No. 9 in the Yankees’ 2022 prospect rankings, a list that included current big leaguers like Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells. Though injuries delayed his development, Gomez’s fastball touching the mid-90s, a sharp slider, and improving command kept him in the conversation as a valuable depth piece.
Heading into 2025, Gomez had slipped to No. 18 in the Yankees’ prospect hierarchy. Some newer draftees and international signings had surpassed him, but the raw tools were still there. His brief cameo with New York last season only reinforced that he could be a viable major league contributor.
But in a move that has become familiar to Yankees watchers, the organization once again gambled that a promising young arm would slip through waivers unnoticed — and once again, a rival pounced.
Dodgers do what Dodgers do
If there’s one team that consistently finds value in castoffs, it’s Los Angeles. The Dodgers’ knack for turning “island of misfit toys” arms into real contributors is well-known. Gomez now joins a long list of pitchers who get a second life at Chavez Ravine.
While Gomez isn’t expected to lock down a closer role, his ability to soak up innings in the middle frames — often an overlooked need in today’s game — makes him a valuable weapon for the Dodgers. And with Tony Gonsolin returning soon, Gomez will need to keep impressing to stick around, but early signs are promising.
Even if he doesn’t last all season in LA, the fact remains: he probably did more than enough to deserve a longer look in the Bronx.
Yankees’ risky bet on stability
By choosing Tyler Matzek over Gomez, the Yankees made a classic “win-now” move. Matzek brings postseason experience and a left-handed option to the bullpen. On paper, the logic is sound.
But the Yankees have been burned before by underestimating their own young arms. Letting Garrett Whitlock walk to the Red Sox for nothing in the Rule 5 Draft remains a painful example. Now, Gomez’s early success threatens to join that list of self-inflicted wounds.
For a franchise that constantly preaches the importance of developing homegrown pitching, moves like this expose a troubling inconsistency between philosophy and execution.
A familiar folly
Whenever the Yankees discard a former top prospect, it’s almost guaranteed that the Dodgers, Red Sox, or Mets will be first in line to claim them. Whether it’s Rob Refsnyder, Garrett Whitlock, Richard Fitts, or Trey Sweeney, recent history shows New York’s rivals are always ready to take a flyer — and often reap the benefits.
Gomez’s quick impact only reinforces the perception that the Yankees, under Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone, remain prone to undervaluing their own talent.
A costly mistake in the making?
The Dodgers invested just a waiver claim in Gomez. For the Yankees, the cost might end up much higher. If Gomez continues to evolve into a reliable bullpen weapon — or even stretches into a swingman role — New York could find itself regretting a decision that was all about short-term roster math rather than long-term upside.
Gomez’s solid start, capped by a three-inning save just days after leaving the Yankees, stands as a reminder that sometimes stability isn’t worth sacrificing potential.
As the 2025 season progresses, fans and analysts alike will be watching to see whether Gomez’s rise becomes yet another indictment of the Yankees’ roster management — and another chapter in the growing list of young talents they let slip away too soon.
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