Yankees Call Up Longtime Minor League Prospect

The Yankees reshuffled their pitching depth prior to Monday's game and called up a longtime prospect.

Apr 5, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; General view of Yankee Stadium as the Yankees take batting / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees made a handful of roster moves on Monday to improve their bullpen.

The most impactful of these moves was the promotion of a longtime prospect, as 28-year-old left-hander Josh Maciejewski was called up; he had been in the Yankees' minor league system since 2018. To make room for Maciejewski, the team sent newly-acquired right-handed reliever Jake Cousins down to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, while fellow left-hander Clayton Andrews was designated for assignment.

Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
• Signed LHP Josh Maciejewski (#61) to a Major League contract and selected him to the active roster.
• Optioned RHP Jake Cousins to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
• Designated LHP Clayton Andrews for…

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 8, 2024

Although Maciejewski was never one of the team's top prospects, he has gotten off to a good start in Triple-A this year by huling 4.2 scoreless frames, walking only one batter while striking out five. He had a decent season last year with the Hudson Valley Renegades (A+), Somerset Patriots (AA), and RailRiders (AAA), posting a 2.96 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, with 46 strikeouts against 17 walks. He primarily throws a sinker, while also throwing a slider and changeup.

Regarding Cousins (who ironically is the cousin of star NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins), he has pitched three innings with the Yankees since being acquired by them in a trade on March 31. The first appearance was a mop-up role in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 2, while he was the winning pitcher in New York's 8-3 triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

As for Andrews, the Yankees acquired him in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers on February 14. He looked impressive with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds by pitching 57 innings and logging a 2.53 ERA with 74 strikeouts, but he was awful in his brief major league call-up with Milwaukee, allowing 11 runs (10 earned) and three home runs in just 3.1 innings. Andrews has also struggled immensely at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, allowing six runs in just 3.2 innings with six walks and only two strikeouts.

New York's bullpen suffered a massive loss with Jonathan Loaisiga out for the season, and their series against Toronto further depleted them; starters Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil were unable to get out of the fifth inning on Saturday and Sunday's games (although the Yankees won both), leaving the bullpen to get 28 outs over the weekend.

Maciejewski's stay in the majors may not last long, as the Yankees might be making this move simply to give their relievers some much-needed rest. However, this gives him an excellent opportunity to make his long-awaited MLB debut, possibly as a long relief option.