The New York Yankees have signed left-handed pitcher Thomas Pannone to a minor league contract and assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, according to MLB.com. Pannone, previously with the Chicago Cubs under a similar deal, was released earlier this week.
Yanks shore up depth, sign Thomas Pannone to minors
Pannone, 30, had been part of the Cubs’ Triple-A Iowa rotation and posted respectable numbers, suggesting he may have opted out of his contract. After joining the Cubs in the winter, Pannone pitched 90 2/3 innings over 19 starts, recording a 4.37 ERA, a 22% strikeout rate, an 8.1% walk rate, and a 42% ground ball rate. The International League, where he pitched, has been a high run-scoring environment this season, with an overall league ERA of 4.90. Pannone’s ERA ranked him 12th among 29 qualified pitchers in the league.
While the Yankees‘ major league rotation is strong, featuring Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman, and Luis Gil, their pitching depth has been compromised by injuries. Clarke Schmidt, JT Brubaker, Cody Poteet, and Clayton Beeter are all currently injured. Schmidt has been sidelined since late May with a lat strain and has not yet started a rehab assignment. Poteet is on the injured list due to a right triceps strain, also without a rehab assignment. Brubaker, who was recovering from Tommy John surgery, was recently shut down due to an oblique strain. Beeter might miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury, according to Greg Joyce of the New York Post on X.
With Pannone in decent form this year, the Yankees have added him to address their depth issues. He has 118 2/3 innings of major league experience with the Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers, with a career ERA of 5.46. He also pitched in Korea for the KBO’s Kia Tigers during parts of 2022 and 2023, recording a 3.49 ERA over 165 innings. If Pannone joins the Yankees’ major league roster at any point, he will be out of options.
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