Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Decline Joely Rodríguez’s Option, Protect Donny Sands

The left-handed Rodríguez pitched well for New York after being acquired in the Joey Gallo trade. Now he’s a free agent.

Gary Phillips

The Yankees declined Joely Rodríguez’s $3 million option on Sunday, sending the left-handed reliever to free agency.

Rodríguez, acquired from the Rangers in the Joey Gallo deal last season, will receive a $500,000 buyout after pitching rather well for New York. The cross-firing 29-year-old joined the Yankees with a 5.93 ERA over 27.1 innings with Texas, but he lowered that mark to 2.84 across 19 frames with the Yankees. New York used the groundball-heavy pitcher as more of a lefty specialist, and he cut back on his walks following the trade.

READ: Yankees' Joey Gallo Wins Gold Glove Award

The Yankees, however, expect to have three other southpaws in their bullpen at the moment: closer Aroldis Chapman, Wandy Peralta and Lucas Luetge. Rodríguez has not been consistent throughout his big league career, totaling a 4.61 ERA over 95.2 innings.

With Rodríguez’s option declined, the Yankees also announced that catching prospect Donny Sands was added to the major league roster. Sands would have been eligible for the Rule 5 Draft had the Yankees not protected him.

The 2015 eighth-round pick split time between Double- and Triple-A last season. Sands slashed .261/.326/.466 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI in 94 games. He hit .272/.339/.476 with eight dingers and 29 RBI in 42 games at Class AAA. 

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Gary Phillips
GARY PHILLIPS

A graduate of Seton Hall, Gary Phillips has written and/or edited for The Athletic, The New York Times, Sporting News, USA Today Sports’ Jets Wire, Bleacher Report and Yankees Magazine, among others. He can be reached at garyhphillips@outlook.com.

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