According to his transactions tracker at MLB.com, left-hander Thomas Pannone has signed a minor league contract with the Yankees and has been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He was released earlier this week after spending time in the minor leagues with the Cubs.
Before being released, Pannone, 30, was contributing to Triple-A Iowa’s rotation and was putting up respectable numbers, so it’s likely that he caused an opt-opt. He pitched 90 2/3 innings over 19 starts with a 4.37 earned run average, 22% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate, and 42% ground ball rate after signing a minor league deal with the Cubs in the winter. With pitchers in the International League having a combined 4.90 ERA, the run-scoring environment in the league has been rather robust this year. Pannone ranks 12th in that league’s qualifying pitchers list with a 4.37 ERA.
Although the Yanks’ major league rotation is currently good, their depth has suffered a little bit. Even though the five big league berths are held by Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman, and Luis Gil, players like Clayton Beeter, JT Brubaker, Cody Poteet, and Clarke Schmidt are all sidelined with injuries. Due to a lat strain, Schmidt was placed on the disabled list in late May, although he hasn’t started any rehabilitation. Poteet’s right triceps injury brought him to the IL almost a month ago, and he hasn’t begun a rehab assignment at that time either. After undergoing Tommy John surgery the previous year, Brubaker was recovering, but an oblique injury forced him to take a break. According to Greg Joyce of the New York Post on X, Beeter may be out for the season due to a shoulder injury.
The Yanks will bring Pannone on board to help fill in some of the depth that has been lost, as he has been playing rather well this season. With the Blue Jays and Brewers, he has pitched 118 2/3 innings in major league baseball, recording a 5.46 ERA throughout that span. Additionally, he pitched 165 innings with the KBO’s Kia Tigers in 2022 and 2023 with a 3.49 ERA while he was in Korea. Pannone has no more choices if he is added to the New York roster at any time.
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