The Yankees have landed the son of a former Yankee — just not yet Cody Bellinger.
The club is acquiring left-hander Ryan Weathers from the Marlins in exchange for four prospects — outfielders Dillon Lewis and Brendan Jones and infielders Dylan Jasso and Juan Matheus, the Yankees announced Tuesday night.
The 26-year-old Weathers, the son of former Yankee David Weathers, bolsters the Yankees’ starting depth and also gives them flexibility, with some experience out of the bullpen and one minor league option remaining. That is important given that the Yankees are set to start the season with Carlos Rodón, Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt on the injured list but will presumably need to make room for them in the rotation at some point.
Weathers made 24 starts over the last two seasons for the Marlins, posting a 3.74 ERA with 117 strikeouts in 125 innings. In between, he dealt with a forearm strain, a lat strain and a finger strain, which forced him to miss time on the injured list. But when he was healthy, he flashed a big fastball that averaged 96.8 mph last season.
The Yankees are acquiring left-handed pitcher Ryan Weathers from the Marlins. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Yankees had tried for another Marlins starter, Edward Cabrera, before he was traded to the Cubs and also had interest in the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta and Nationals’ Mackenzie Gore. But they ended up with Weathers, who came at a lower prospect cost than the others would have while offering some upside and three years of team control.
Weathers, who is set to make $1.35 million this year, will have a chance to break camp in the rotation alongside Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil and Will Warren, with swingman Ryan Yarbrough also in the mix if needed.
Lewis was the most well-regarded prospect – ranked eighth in the system by Baseball America – the Yankees had to give up in the deal, a 13th-round pick in 2024 who raised his stock with a strong 2025. Jones was a 12th-round pick in 2024 while Jasso signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and Matheus was an international signing.
Weathers’ dad, David, was a reliever on the Yankees’ 1996 World Series championship team.
The better known son-of-a-Yankee is Bellinger, whom the Yankees are still trying to re-sign despite a current gap in contract length between the two sides. But in the interim, the Yankees checked off another need by adding starting depth roughly a month before pitchers and catchers report to spring training.