There is a certain type of guy that just sticks around. For about a half-decade, Adam Warren was just that for the New York Yankees. That doesn’t just happen either, as highly competent pitching has a way of sticking around, and for a while, Warren was a certified Guy On The Team. In three different stints in New York, Warren was often very effective on the mound, and an important piece in the relief corps in parts of six seasons.
On his 39th birthday, let’s take a look at the career of pitcher who
did plenty of dirty work, and did so well enough to stick around longer than most.
Adam Warren
Born: August 25, 191987 (Birmingham, AL)
Yankees Tenure: 2012-15, 2016-18
After playing his high school and college baseball in North Carolina, Adam Warren was initially drafted in the 36th round of the 2008 draft, before finding a better spot in the ‘09 draft, when the Yankees scooped him up in the fourth round.
Warren spent three seasons climbing the ranks in the Yankees’ minor leagues, working his way up to a full season in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2011. In June of 2012, the right-hander made his Major League debut, in what turned out to be a real clunker against the White Sox. Warren started the game and surrendered six runs on eight hits across just 2.1 innings. It was a rough welcome to the bigs, and was his only appearance in 2012, but he’d obviously make a return.
When the 2013 season rolled around, Warren found a much better spot for himself, and played a significant role for the Yanks that season. Primarily working out of the ‘pen, starting just two of his 34 games, the then-25-year-old managed a solid 3.39 ERA in 77 innings of work. Working multiple innings in many of his outings, Warren provided some real stability in a sometimes challenging role. His importance that season began a multi-year run of Warren’s presence in the Bronx.
In 2014, the righty was even better in 78.2 innings, posting a sub-3 ERA and improved strikeout and walk rates in a new career-high work load. A season later, he set a new high-water mark for himself. In a new-found role, spot starting and still often pitching in relief, Warren pitched in 43 games, which included 17 starts, resulting in a significant career-high in innings with 131.1. Being asked to wear several different hats on the mound, Warren didn’t blink an eye, maintaining his same solid production in his most prevalent year yet.
After the 2015 season ended, the Yankees capitalized on Warren’s value at the time by trading him to the Cubs in the deal that brought Starlin Castro the New York. After a rough half-season in Chicago, he was actually shipped back to the Yankees, along with Gleyber Torres, when the Cubs acquired Aroldis Chapman. He pitched much better in the second half once he returned to the Yankees, and rolled that performance right into another excellent season in 2017.
That year, he posted a career-low 2.35 ERA in his 46 appearances, in a role that once again saw him recording more than three outs fairly often. Warren also got some work in the exciting 2017 postseason run, where he allowed a run in 4.1 innings of work, including 3.1 scoreless frames in the ALCS against the Astros.
Despite his continued good work out of the bullpen, he was shipped out once again, this time in a deal that sent him to Seattle. After the 2018 season, Warren inked a deal with the Padres, which would turn out to be his final stop in an eight year Major League career.
Between 2019 and ‘20, Warren actually re-signed with the Yankees a couple of times, but was unable to climb his way back to the big club. In just shy of 500 Major League innings, across eight seasons, Warren managed a solid 6.6 bWAR and a 117 ERA+ for his career. Always a valuable long reliever, and at times a vital part of the bullpen, Warren certainly made a mark with the Yankees in his time there, while also being part of several high-level trades.
Here’s to a happy 39th for the former bullpen stalwart!
