NEW YORK — A reliever who was cut without throwing a single pitch is suddenly worth a phone call. That is how worried the Yankees have become about their bullpen.
The Yankees added right-hander Peter Strzelecki on Saturday. The deal is a minor league contract, and he reports to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. New York Post insider Jon Heyman first reported the move.
On the surface, this looks like a small transaction. A 31-year-old depth arm heading to the minors rarely makes headlines. Yet the timing tells a louder story about a Yankees relief corps under strain.
Yankees add a depth arm to a shaky bullpen
The signing landed in the middle of a rough patch for New York. The Yankees bullpen has wobbled all season. The group carried a 3.55 ERA through the end of May.
Friday made the problem impossible to ignore. Gerrit Cole returned from Tommy John surgery and threw six scoreless innings. The bullpen then surrendered four runs in the eighth and let a 4-2 loss to the Rays slip away.
That collapse pushed the Yankees a season-high 5½ games behind Tampa Bay in the American League East. The relief unit has become the team’s most pressing weakness. Adding bodies, even minor league ones, is now a clear priority.
Strzelecki gives the Yankees a familiar profile to stash at Triple-A. He is experienced, affordable and ready if the big-league pen keeps leaking. For now, he waits in Scranton as insurance.
A career built on the transaction wire
Strzelecki’s recent path reads like a waiver-wire blur. The Brewers signed him to a minor league deal in February. They selected his contract to the 26-man roster last Saturday.
His return to the majors lasted barely a day. Milwaukee designated him for assignment the very next afternoon. He never threw a pitch before getting cut loose.
Because he had been outrighted before, Strzelecki held a choice. He cleared waivers and elected free agency on May 20 rather than accept another Triple-A assignment. His time on the open market did not last long.
The whole sequence capped a frustrating second stint in Milwaukee. The Brewers brought him back on a minor league deal in February. He spent the early season at Triple-A Nashville. There he posted a 4.12 ERA over 16 games before the brief call-up and quick release.
Three days later, the Yankees came calling. The signing carries a small homecoming angle. Strzelecki was born in Queens on Oct. 24, 1994, though he grew up in Florida.
His baseball roots run through the Sunshine State. He pitched at Santaluces Community High School in Lantana, then Palm Beach State College. He later transferred to the University of South Florida.
The Brewers signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He climbed their system for four years before debuting on June 2, 2022. His rookie year remains his best, a 2.83 ERA over 30 games.
The years since have been a tour of the transaction wire, the kind of journey that landed him with the Yankees. Milwaukee traded him to the Diamondbacks for Andrew Chafin in August 2023. Arizona cut him the next spring, and Cleveland claimed him for cash in March 2024. Stops with the Pirates and the Rays organizations followed in 2025, with neither lasting long.
Why Strzelecki could still pitch in the Bronx
Here is the heart of why the Yankees took the flier. Strzelecki’s track record is better than his journeyman status suggests. The numbers hint at a useful middle reliever.
Over 83 2/3 career big-league innings, he owns a 3.44 ERA. He has a 1.22 WHIP and 86 strikeouts across 77 appearances. His 24% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate point to real command.
His most recent MLB work was his sharpest, and it caught the eye of the Yankees. Strzelecki posted a 2.31 ERA over 11 2/3 innings for the Guardians in 2024. He struck out nine and walked just three in that stretch.
Those marks make him a candidate to help the Yankees at some point. A career 3.44 ERA and steady control fit the middle innings that have hurt New York. The Yankees front office clearly sees a fixable arm.
The scouting concerns are just as real, though. Strzelecki’s fastball sits in the low 90s and will not overpower hitters. His ordinary Triple-A line this year does little to quiet the doubts about the velocity.
Roster crunch complicates any promotion
The bigger obstacle is a roster rule, not the radar gun. Strzelecki is out of minor league options. That single fact shapes how the Yankees can use him.
Promoting him would force a tricky sequence. To call him up, the Yankees must add him to the 40-man and active rosters. To send him back down later, they would have to designate him for assignment again.
That would expose the 31-year-old to waivers all over again. Any team could claim him off the wire. The lack of flexibility could trap Strzelecki in a cycle of DFA limbo.
For now, the Yankees avoid that headache entirely. Strzelecki stays in Scranton as low-risk bullpen depth. He pitches, stays sharp and waits for the call that may or may not come.
The signing fits a pattern from the Yankees this season. They keep collecting arms to patch a leaky pen. Whether Strzelecki becomes the answer or just another name on the wire remains to be seen.
One thing is certain. The Yankees need bullpen help, and they need it soon. Strzelecki is a quiet bet that experience and control can still matter in MLB race.
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