Yankees add another aging veteran arm disregarding warning signs

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The Yankees’ questionable pattern continues with the latest veteran pitcher acquisition.

The New York Yankees appear determined to test Einstein’s definition of insanity. Despite watching their previous veteran reclamation project implode spectacularly, the organization doubled down Tuesday by inking injury-plagued right-hander Anthony DeSclafani to a minor league contract.

The move comes barely eight weeks after Carlos Carrasco was unceremoniously designated for assignment following a series of disastrous starts. For many observers, this latest signing represents an alarming case of organizational amnesia — another aging, damaged arm offering minimal upside and familiar risk.

A familiar mistake?

With Carrasco’s disappointing tenure still fresh in memory — the veteran remains buried in the minor leagues after accepting an outright assignment — the Yankees have inexplicably returned to the same well. DeSclafani, a 35-year-old who hasn’t thrown a competitive pitch since undergoing right flexor tendon surgery last season, represents a nearly identical gamble.

The right-hander missed the entire 2024 campaign and has yet to face live hitters this spring. His rehabilitation timeline remains nebulous at best, though the Yankees announced he’s reported to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following Tuesday’s agreement.

While technically a low-risk depth acquisition, the parallels to the Carrasco experiment are impossible to ignore. That signing yielded nothing but roster complications and underwhelming performances before its inevitable conclusion.

Yankees new arm: Injury-riddled, inactive, and 35

DeSclafani’s career trajectory epitomizes the term “declining asset.” His standout 2021 campaign with the San Francisco Giants — a 13-7 record with a 3.17 ERA across 31 starts — stands as an increasingly distant memory. The years since have been defined by escalating health concerns and diminishing effectiveness.

Before his 2023 season ended prematurely, DeSclafani struggled to a 4.88 ERA in 19 appearances. His subsequent journey became a cautionary tale of damaged goods, bouncing from San Francisco to Seattle to Minnesota in rapid succession through January trades, never throwing a single pitch for the Twins before his quiet release earlier this spring.

Over nine major league seasons with the Marlins, Reds, and Giants, DeSclafani has compiled a career 4.19 ERA across 180 games (169 starts). However, his performance since 2022 suggests a pitcher in significant decline rather than one poised for a resurgence.

Yankees pitching depth on thin ice

The organization’s willingness to revisit the retread market underscores their increasingly precarious pitching situation. Luis Gil remains sidelined until at least July with a lat strain. Staff ace Gerrit Cole won’t throw a single pitch in 2025 following Tommy John surgery. Despite Ryan Yarbrough’s integration into the rotation’s back end, the group beyond Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Will Warren, and Clarke Schmidt appears dangerously depleted.

The pitching concerns arrive at an especially inopportune moment, with versatile infielder Oswaldo Cabrera freshly added to the injured list after suffering a fractured ankle. The cumulative effect projects an organization gradually shifting into crisis management mode rather than championship contention.

Lessons unlearned?

When the Yankees acquired Carrasco, they sought a veteran innings-eater to stabilize their rotation. That experiment failed spectacularly. Now they’re apparently hoping DeSclafani — who hasn’t completed a full, healthy season since 2021 — can somehow deliver where Carrasco couldn’t.

This signing bears all the hallmarks of budget-conscious desperation — a move that prioritizes name recognition over practical utility. Unless DeSclafani can demonstrate he’s more than just a faded reputation attached to a rehabilitation program, this acquisition seems destined to produce more questions than answers, more frustration than innings.

For a franchise with championship aspirations, the continued reliance on baseball’s bargain bin suggests either misplaced optimism or troubling resource limitations. Either way, the DeSclafani signing reads less like a solution and more like a repetition of recent mistakes, with predictably similar results likely to follow.

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