Although the Yankees do not play today, as they travel from Chicago to Texas for a three-game set against the Houston Astros, they opted not to wait the extra day to make their September call-ups official. As expected, the Yankees announced this afternoon
that they had activated pitcher Ryan Yarbrough from the 15-day injured list and recalled catcher/emergency infielder J.C. Escarra from Triple-A Scranton.Yarbrough had been a revelation for the Yankees in the season’s early goings. With both the starting
rotation and bullpen decimated by injuries during the spring — Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, Jonathan Loáisiga, Ian Hamilton, Jake Cousins Scott Effross, Clayton Beeter,, and JT Brubaker all began the year on the IL, and some of them never left — the Yankees signed Yarbrough to a big-league contract right at the end of spring training, as the southpaw had opted out of his deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Yarbrough spent the month of April as an effective long man out of the bullpen, with his 4.11 ERA inflated by one disastrous outing on April 3rd. After Marcus Stroman joined the parade of injured pitchers, Yarbrough slid into the starting rotation, where he continued to be a stabilizing presence: while he struggled to give the team length, he allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his eight starts. That even included an excellent performance against his World Series champion teammates in LA on June 1st:
Unfortunately, Yarbrough would himself join the small army of Yankees pitchers on the IL, as a right oblique strain has kept him sidelined since June 18th.
Although he rehabbed as a starter in case he was required in that role, the Yankees don’t need to rush Yarbrough back into the rotation thanks to Cam Schlittler’s emergence. Because of this, he will return to his early-season role as a multi-inning reliever out of the bullpen, giving the Yankees a second lefty out of the bullpen in addition to Tim Hill.
Like Yarbrough, Escarra was an unexpected spring darling, as his strong spring training performance, elite pitching framing, and story of perseverance and determination made him an early fan favorite. That said, he was unable to avoid the Trade Deadline roster crunch, as Ben Rice demonstrating that he could catch in The Show made Escarra redundant
Now, Escarra returns, but don’t expect him to be around for long (and no, it’s not because they’re about to call up the slumping Spencer Jones). J.C. is merely keeping the spot warm for outfielder Austin Slater, whom the Yankees acquired at the Trade Deadline. The former White Sox outfielder has been on the shelf since August 4th with a strained hamstring, but is on track to be back soon after commencing a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton over the weekend; he’s appeared in two games thus far. With the Yankees in desperate need of his ability to hit left-handed pitching — Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham, Jasson Domínguez, and Ryan McMahon all have a wRC+ below 95 when southpaws toe the rubber in 2025 — Slater and his 125 wRC+ against lefties will be back in the majors sooner rather than later.
