Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Acquire Reliever Scott Effross From Cubs

The Yankees are adding a new face to the bullpen, a right-hander with impressive metrics and a funky delivery.

Max Goodman

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NEW YORK — Bullpen help is on the way.

With one day remaining until the trade deadline, the Yankees have made their first move to add reinforcements to their pitching staff.

New York has acquired right-hander Scott Effross from the Cubs, sending pitching prospect Hayden Wesneski back to Chicago in the deal, the team announced. Wesneski was New York's No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. 

Effross, 28, has a 2.66 ERA over 47 games this season, striking out 50 batters in 44 frames. The right-hander—who throws from a sidearm angle—has an effective four-pitch mix, leaning heavily on his slider (a pitch he throws 40% of the time). He balances the horizontal movement of his sweeping slider with a biting sinker and a devastating changeup, keeping hitters off balance while avoiding barrels (3.4% barrel rate, 95th percentile in MLB this season).

Saying goodbye to Wesneski won't be easy. The starter had broken out in New York's farm system over the last two years, knocking on the door of a big-league promotion in Triple-A this season (3.51 ERA over 19 starts with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre).

That said, Effross can help the Yankees in their bullpen for much more than just this season. The Indiana product and former 15th-round pick is under team control through the 2027 season.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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