The New York Yankees have strengthened a rotation expected to face challenges early in the upcoming season, announcing Tuesday the acquisition of left-hander Ryan Weathers from the Miami Marlins in exchange for a four-player prospect package.
Miami will receive outfielders Brendan Jones and Dillon Lewis, along with infielders Dylan Jasso and Juan Matheus in the deal, News.Az reports, citing MLB.com.
According to MLB Pipeline, Jones (No. 15), Lewis (No. 16), and Jasso (No. 23) were all ranked among the Yankees’ top 30 prospects.
Weathers is the son of 19-year big league veteran David Weathers, who pitched for the Yankees for parts of two seasons from 1996-97, including 11 strong postseason innings that helped the ’96 team win the franchise’s first championship since 1978.
Now the younger Weathers projects as part of the bridge to keep the Yanks’ staff afloat early, with left-hander Carlos Rodón, right-hander Gerrit Cole and right-hander Clarke Schmidt all unavailable for Opening Day while recovering from surgical procedures.
Weathers, 26, slots behind Max Fried in a rotation that also projects to feature Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Luis Gil, with Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn on board as depth options.
Fried, Schlittler and Warren are all coming off career highs in innings pitched, one factor that fueled the Yankees’ interest in the starting pitching market.
They explored other options, including the Marlins’ Edward Cabrera, who was dealt instead to the Cubs. New York was also connected to the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta and the Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore.
A first-round pick by the Padres in the 2018 Draft, Weathers was traded to the Marlins in 2023. He is under club control for the next three seasons.
Weathers owns a career 4.93 ERA with 235 strikeouts over 281 innings. Durability has been an issue for Weathers, who has never made more than 18 starts in a season, which he did during his rookie year with San Diego.
He features a four-seam fastball, changeup and sweeper in a repertoire that also includes a sinker and slider. Weathers made only eight starts this past season due to injuries, including a left flexor muscle strain suffered in Spring Training and a left lat strain that cost him time during the summer.