Trevor Stephan Explains Why He Was ‘Happy’ to Leave Yankees as a Rule 5 Pick

Stephan enjoyed a breakout season with the Guardians in 2022, recording a 2.69 ERA.

All throughout Garrett Whitlock’s stellar rookie season, Yankees fans pointed out the grave mistake their favorite team had made.

New York left the right-hander, who was coming off Tommy John surgery, unprotected in the 2020 Rule 5 draft despite an accomplished minor league résumé. So the rival Red Sox scooped Whitlock up, and the reliever recorded a 1.96 ERA over 73.1 innings in 2021 before adding a 2.16 ERA over five playoff appearances.

The Yankees, meanwhile, found themselves using inferior young pitchers such as Albert Abreu (5.15 ERA), Nick Nelson (8.79), and Brooks Kriske (15.26) at times. As they struggled and Whitlock thrived, the Bronx faithful and pundits repeatedly pointed out that New York lost out by not protecting Boston’s new weapon.

In reality, though, the Yankees actually lost out twice in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft.

While Whitlock garnered all the headlines last year, Trevor Stephan has become an important part of Cleveland’s bullpen over the last two seasons. The righty’s numbers were modest – but better than the aforementioned Yankees pitchers – in 2021, as Stephan tallied a 4.41 ERA over 63.1 innings after his Rule 5 departure.

This year, however, Stephan enjoyed a breakout year, registering a 2.69 ERA over 63.2 frames. The 26-year-old struck out 30.7% of the batters he faced, and his 1.7 fWAR gave him a top-10 mark among relievers.

Stephan pitched a scoreless frame against New York on Tuesday in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, a 4-1 Guardians loss. On Wednesday, he discussed the emotions that came with leaving the Yankees organization in the Rule 5 Draft.

“I was happy, honestly,” said Stephan, who joined the Yankees as a third-round June Amateur Draft pick in 2017. “[In] 2020, I was at home. I didn't get invited to the alternate site. After that happened, I was hoping I got Rule 5'd, honestly. And to get this opportunity with Cleveland, it's a blessing, and I'm glad it happened.”

Trevor Stephan, Nasty 90mph Splitter. ✌️ pic.twitter.com/0rDL6LnPK8

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 12, 2022

Stephan was at home in 2020 because the pandemic canceled the minor league season. Some prospects were invited to alternate sights – locations where replacement players could stay in shape in case COVID-19 sidelined players on active rosters – but Stephan wasn’t one of them after recording a 4.72 ERA between High Single-A and Double-A in 2019.

So Stephan didn’t play in 2020, but Cleveland saw a pitcher worth taking a chance on. So far, the low-risk move has paid off handsomely.

While Stephan was eager to move on from the Yankees, he’s relished watching some of his former minor league teammates thrive this year. He noted that he roomed Michael King – who had his own breakout this year before getting hurt – and was drafted in the same class as Clarke Schmidt.

“We shared the journey together for the first few years,” Stephan said. "It's awesome to see the success and just being in the league together at the same time. It's cool.”

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