Yankees sign Cody Poteet to fight for spot on pitching staff
The Yankees have agreed to a deal with righty Cody Poteet on a contract that will pay him $750,000 if he is in the majors, The Post has learned.
A source stated that Poteet, who missed most of last year undergoing Tommy John surgery, passed his medical and that the contract will be formalized sometime Thursday.
Since this is a major league deal, Poteet gets put on the 40-man roster. But it is a split deal, so Poteet would be paid $200,000 in the minors.
Poteet pitched for the Marlins in 2021-22, pitching to a 4.45 ERA in 19 games, including nine starts.
He underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2022, signed a two-year minor league deal with the Royals and only pitched in one minor league game in late September in 2023.
Kansas City inked the two-year pact with Poteet wanting to rehab him in 2023 and have him as an option for its major league squad in 2024.
But the Royals had an understanding with Poteet that if he were not taken in the December Rule 5 draft and was not put on the 40-man roster subsequently, he could opt out of the second year.
One reason that Kansas City had a full 40-man roster and did not put Poteet on it was that it had taken Matt Sauer from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft.
Poteet, 29, will become part of the Yankees’ depth competition for both the pen and rotation.
The Yankees wanted to establish stronger staff depth after incorporating Michael King, Jhony Brito, Drew Thorpe and Randy Vasquez as the major components in a trade for Juan Soto and Trent Grisham, while also losing Mitch Spence to Oakland and Sauer as the first two picks in the Rule 5 draft.
Poteet has all three of his options, so the Yankees can also send him between the majors and minors during the season.
