Yankees' under-the-radar pitching prospect turning heads early in camp
TAMPA, Fla. — Aaron Boone nodded his head. Standing behind a screen with mesh wiring, the New York Yankees manager watched right-hander Yerry De Los Santos pump sinkers, sliders and splitters against a crew of hitters. They hardly had a chance.
About 20 minutes later, when asked if any of the team's lesser-known players had stood out to him early in spring training, De Los Santos was on Boone's mind.
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'It's good to see him looking like he did when he finished the season (at Triple A) last year,' Boone said.
De Los Santos, 27, could be a factor in the Yankees' bullpen at some point early this season, pitching coach Matt Blake said.
The club had hoped he would make an impact in the majors last year. Early in the 2023 offseason, the Yankees signed him to a minor-league deal after he spent nine years in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
They signed him so quickly that they didn't even ask Blake for his input.
'They were like, 'This is a no-brainer for us. We really liked him,'' Blake said. 'A lot of times they'll run it through (director of pitching) Sam (Briend) or myself or we'll get a pretty good look at a bunch of guys and ideas they have. This one was like, basically, at the top of our minor-league board and we got him early. So, let's go. For me, I was confident that their process was solid in that regard.'
Yankees prospect Yerry De Los Santos throws live BP pic.twitter.com/pENzYIeLcz
— Randy Miller (@RandyJMiller) February 15, 2025
But De Los Santos stumbled early. Through his first 27 appearances at Triple A, he had a 5.79 ERA. But as he honed his splitter with the help of minor-league pitching coach Gerardo Casadiego, he began to flourish. Over his final 24 appearances, he had a 2.04 ERA. Overall, he had a 4.12 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 19 walks in 59 innings.
De Los Santo debuted in the majors in 2022 and saw time back there in 2023, but didn't crack the Yankees' bullpen last season.
While his mid-90s sinker has been at times impressive, his splitter could be what brings him back to the majors, Blake said.
'He added the split and then kind of fixed the split,' Blake said. 'That kind of gave him a lefty weapon. And I actually think it gives him a righty weapon, too. It seems to be like an equalizer for him. He's got the sinker that he can run in on the hands of the righties. He's got the slider he can run away. With the splitter, he's kind of neutral-handed, and that's something he could lean on a lot more, and he did at the end of last year. … He can command it, and he's got the shape he wanted. That was kind of the main focus for him.'
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The Yankees appear to have a spot or two open in the back of their bullpen behind locks Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton, Fernando Cruz, Mark Leiter Jr. and Tim Hill. Jonathan Loáisiga (elbow) said he might not be ready to return from the injured list until late May or early June. Marcus Stroman has said he refuses to pitch out of the bullpen for the Yankees. Jake Cousins (forearm) and Clayton Beeter (shoulder) are each considered a bit behind in their workouts and their statuses for Opening Day remain unclear.
Boone thought back to what he saw out of De Los Santos on Saturday.
'Today, I thought his sinker, slider and split — all three were good pitches for him, commanding them how he wanted to,' the manager said. … I think he refined some things and had a really good second half (at Triple A) and has looked sharp so far this spring.'
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Yankees' Marcus Stroman arrives in camp and sends message: 'I won't pitch in the bullpen''
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