The New York Yankees are bringing back relief pitcher Adam Ottavino to bolster their bullpen as the team enters a stretch of 22 games in 23 days.
The team announced on Tuesday that it has signed the veteran righty to a Major League deal and added him to the active roster ahead of its game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 7 p.m. ET.
The Yankees also transferred reliever JT Brubaker to the 60-day injured list and placed closer Devin Williams on the paternity list. Brubaker broke three ribs trying to dodge a comebacker during spring training and now won’t be eligible to return until June.
Ottavino pitched for the Yankees in 2019 and 2020, emerging as a critical part of the bullpen as New York advanced to the 2019 ALCS. Though he was an elite reliever in the regular season that year (1.90 ERA, 11.9 SO/9), manager Aaron Boone was forced to lean on him too much down the stretch. The eventual American League champion Houston Astros figured him out in the playoffs and he ended the postseason with an 8.10 ERA and 7.41 FIP.
This time around, New York won’t be looking to him to routinely take on high-leverage, late-inning situations. Now 39, Ottavino will be an extra arm for however long the Yankees need him, supplementing a relief corps that already includes the likes of Luke Weaver, Tim Hill, Mark Leiter Jr. and, when he gets back, Williams.
Yankees closer Devin Williams hits the paternity list
The Yankees will be without their closer for the next few days, but it’s for a good reason. Williams will miss Tuesday night’s game at minimum while on the paternity list, and per MLB rules, can miss up to three games.
Williams appeared in the Yankees’ Opening Day win over his former team, the Milwaukee Brewers, and had a rough debut, allowing a run on two hits and a walk. That’s just one game, however, and the Yankees are banking on him being the same pitcher who was a two-time All-Star and Rookie of the Year in Milwaukee. Though he only threw four innings during the spring, all indications are he’s ready to bring his dominance to the AL.
Should a save situation arise over the next few days, Weaver will probably get the nod — he took over the closer role last season when the Yankees lost faith in a struggling Clay Holmes. The Hill and Leiter combo could then take the seventh and eighth innings, with Yoendrys Gómez and Ottavino around to take whatever’s left.
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