The New York Yankees unofficially set their Opening Day bullpen on Sunday evening, following another round of roster cuts. Crucially, though, the word “unofficially” is doing a lot of heavy lifting, with so many veteran options currently floating around the MLB atmosphere.
Notably, both Adam Ottavino (Boston) and Ryan Yarbrough (Blue Jays) became free agents after both familiar vets were informed they’d be left off the Opening Day rosters of their respective clubs. The Yankees have been known to dabble in those waters to replenish depth, when given the opportunity.
For now, though, feel-good story Wilking Rodriguez has been assigned to minor-league camp. The 35-year-old righty made two appearances in the bigs with the 2014 Kansas City Royals, and has been fighting his way back ever since, finding a few additional miles per hour on his standard fastball.
He entered Yankees camp without a 40-man roster spot, though, making his climb extra steep. He made enough of an impression to be considered throughout the season, but for now, the Yankees’ bullpen will default to include Yoendrys Gomez, Brent Headrick, and Yerry De Los Santos in his absence. Unless … they felt like shaking things up on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday?
Yankees reassigned Wilking Rodriguez to minor league camp.
So, barring external moves, that would leave Yoendrys Gomez, Brent Headrick and Yerry De Los Santos to round out the bullpen.
— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) March 23, 2025
Yankees’ Opening Day bullpen includes Yoendrys Gomez, Brent Headrick, Yerry De Los Santos unless external move occurs
Both Gomez (who’s out of minor-league options) and Headrick have looked relatively essential of late; Gomez is carrying an 11 1/3-inning spring shutout over seven appearances, and Headrick’s been stretched out recently, covering two blank frames on Friday in Lakeland against the Tigers.
De Los Santos, a relative wild card who was protected from the Rule 5 Draft a few months back, squandered a one-run lead on Sunday, surrendering Max Fried’s third run, but has whiffed nine in 9 1/3 frames in camp on the whole, balancing a 1.93 ERA with a worrisome 1.39 WHIP.
He’s protected on the 40-man roster, and had a pair of minor-league options remaining when he agreed to a pact with the Yankees in the 2023-24 offseason. The Yankees are theoretically comfortable with opening the season with De Los Santos on the roster, but he certainly seems to be on thin ice before the opener, especially as more options flood the market. Though the Yankees’ search for a right-handed bat has gotten most of the publicity lately, the final spots in their bullpen are also ripe for upgrading. That’s what happens when Scott Effross, Jake Cousins, JT Brubaker, Clayton Beeter, and Ian Hamilton all go down, after all.
