The New York Yankees have signed veteran right-hander Paul Blackburn to a big-league contract, the team announced on Thursday afternoon. Blackburn has been added to the major-league roster, with the Yankees clearing a roster spot for him by optioning fellow right-handed pitcher Allan Winans to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yankees will ostensibly use Blackburn in a long relief role.
Blackburn, 31, is a former All-Star honoree who was released earlier this week by the New York Mets. In seven appearances (four of them starts) this season, he had compiled a 6.85 ERA (59 ERA+) and a 2.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His contributions were estimated by Baseball Reference to have been below the replacement-level boundary.
From an arsenal perspective, Blackburn has thrown six pitches at least 5% of the time this season. His best offerings are a pair of breaking balls, a sweeper and a spike curveball, that serve as his third- and fifth-most deployed weapons. It’s possible that the Yankees ask him to spam the opposition with those pitches more often as a means of improving his output.
Blackburn isn’t too far removed from better days, however. In 56 appearances spread across the 2022-24 seasons, he amassed a 4.43 ERA (89 ERA+) and a 2.68 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Those marks may not seem reliable, but they helped earn him a place on the 2022 American League All-Star team when he was a member of the then-Oakland Athletics.
Of course, Blackburn has dealt with his fair share of injuries. Dating back to Opening Day 2023, he’s required six different stints on the injured list. That includes last fall’s deactivation on account of a spinal fluid leak.
The Yankees will begin a four-game series with the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. You can read more about that renewed rivalry by clicking here.