December has been a busy month for the Yankees, wrapping up a year that saw them win the American League pennant. In the aftermath of Juan Soto’s signing with the crosstown Mets, they’ve signed Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt and traded for Cody Bellinger and Davin Williams, most notably. Going with a more piecemeal approach, there are still some holes left to fill on the prospective 2025 roster, one of which is a lefty in the bullpen.
There are obviously a number of ways to resolve this problem, one of which would be cheap options on the free agent market. Andrew Chafin is certainly one of those options, with a long track record of durability and reasonable success as a big league pitcher.
2024 Statistics: 62 games, 56.1 IP, 3.51 ERA (116 ERA+), 3.54 FIP, 3.94 xFIP, 11.18 K/9, 4.95 BB/9, 1.47 WHIP, 0.4 fWAR
2025 FanGraphs Depth Charts Projections: 54 games, 54 IP, 3.79 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 9.84 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 1.33 WHIP, 0.2 fWAR
Previous Contract: Signed one-year $4.75 million deal with the Detroit Tigers, traded to the Texas Rangers on July 30th.
Relative to the Yankees’ other offseason moves thus far, signing a 34-year-old left-handed reliever may not be the most exciting prospect, but it may be a wise one from their perspective. 2024 was Chafin’s 11th season in the majors, and he once again maintained his status as a reliable, and at times impressive, middle-to-late-inning reliever from the left side. In all but one (non-2020) season since 2015, Chafin has appeared at least 62 times out of the ‘pen, with a fairly consistent FIP sitting around the mid-3’s.
Most recently, Chafin spent 2024 first with the Tigers before being flipped to the Rangers at the deadline. His time in Detroit (actually his second stint following an earlier campaign in his career) was much more fruitful for the mustachioed veteran, as he worked to the tune of a 3.16 ERA and 2.54 FIP in his 37 innings. His shorter stint with the defending champs was not much to write home about, as he walked nearly 18 percent of opposing batters with a 5.44 FIP. The story was quite similar when he was traded from Arizona to the Brewers the year prior.
Despite his recent memories being less favorable, 19.1 uninspiring innings shouldn’t write off what has been a very solid decade-plus in the bigs. With the aforementioned dependability and availability, a fortifying career 3.91 FIP to accompany his 3.79 ERA solidify him not as a dominant force, but one that can generally be relied upon. This is not to mention some of the positives still going for Chafin; despite the issues with command later in the season, he did post his highest strikeout rate since 2020, and his second-highest in any full season of work.
As far as a fit with the Yankees goes, there is certainly one to be found. As things stand at the time of writing this, the Yankees are still without a left-hander in the projected 2025 bullpen. Along with their interest in reuniting with Tim Hill, Chafin presents a low cost and generally reliable option to fill that role on a short-term basis. His sinker-slider combo makes for a plenty of chases and whiffs, and his long resume makes it easier to shrug off his rough second half last season.
The blockbuster deals may very well be done for this offseason, but there are plenty of supplementary moves that can help the Yankees on the margins. Signing a reliable lefty like Chafin for the bullpen on a one-year deal, as he has the last few offseasons, could fit that mold rather well.
