Yankees Put $15 Million Mets Reliever on Free Agent Radar for Lefty Bullpen Gap

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone

The New York Yankees have been perhaps the most active team in Major League Baseball this offseason. After losing the biggest free agent prize on the market in Juan Soto to their crosstown rival New York Mets for a perk-laden, $756 million contract, the 2024 World Series runners-up have been busy in both the free agent and trade markets attempting to upgrade their roster and compensate for Soto’s absence as they look for another shot at a championship.

The legendary franchise has won a record 27 World Series titles in 41 Fall Classic appearances, but is currently in the midst of a 15-year drought. The Yankees last won a World Series in 2009, and that was their only title since defeating the New York Mets in the “Subway Series” of 2000.

So far this offseason, the Yankees have signed free agents Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt while re-signing their own Jonathan Loáisiga. They have made trades to acquire a top bullpen closer in Devin Williams and veteran bat in Cody Bellinger.

One Huge Flaw in Yankees Roster Remains

Now, the Yankees are reportedly finished with their big acquisitions for this offseason, but that does not mean longtime general manager Brian Cashman’s work is done. The Yankees have at least one gaping hole to fill. They do not have a single left-handed reliever in their entire bullpen.

The Yankees have reportedly shown interest in former Atlanta Braves southpaw A.J. Minter, as well as Padres closer Tanner Scott. But no deals yet, and the bullpen remains all-righty.

On Saturday, a new port-sider emerged as a candidate to fill that gap in the Yankee bullpen, and he would come from the other New York team, the Mets. According to a report by Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Yankees are one of at least two teams — the other being the Chicago Cubs — who have explored the possibility of a multi-year contract with 36-year-old free agent lefty Brooks Raley.

There is a catch. Raley is recovering from Tommy John surgery after going under the knife last May. If the Yankees sign him they would be following the lead of their American League East rivals the Boston Red Sox who last year signed former White Sox reliever Liam Hendriks to a two-year deal with options despite Hendriks’ recent Tommy John operation.

But Hendriks was a three-time All-Star while Raley is just four years removed from a five-season stint pitching for the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization.

Raley Has Proven Effective Since Return to MLB

According to the Athletic report, however, Raley — who spent 2023 and 2024 prior to his surgery with the Mets, may be ready to take the mound in a big league game as early as July.

Raley, who was drafted in the sixth round in 2009 by the Cubs, has been largely an effective reliever since returning from Korea. In both 2022 and 2023 he posted ERA numbers under 3.00 — 2.68 and 2.80 with the Tampa Bay Rays and Mets, respectively — and in 2023, his most recent full season, he struck out 61 batters in 54 2/3 innings.

In 2024, Raley was on the club option year of a two-year contract that included the third-year option and paid him a total of $15.25 million. He would presumably be looking for something similar from the Yankees, though adjusted for the fact that he cannot pitch at least until mid-season.

Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. Vankin is also the author of five nonfiction books on a variety of topics, as well as nine graphic novels including most recently “Last of the Gladiators” published by Dynamite Entertainment. More about Jonathan Vankin