The New York Yankees are adding some potential help to their bullpen, signing a big reliever with an inspirational story.
On Friday, MLB.com and New York Post reporter Jon Heyman reported that the Yankees signed Drake Fellows to a minor-league deal. Heyman noted that Fellows was a “pen candidate” with a big strikeout rate and strong slider.
Yankees Show Early Interest in Drake Fellows
The Fellows signing comes after a relatively quiet run through Winter Meetings for the Yankees, but Billy Heyen of The Sporting News suggested that the team could have faith in Fellows given their early signing.
“The Yankees targeted him pretty early in the offseason, though, so they must like Fellows’ potential as a big-bodied relief pitcher,” Heyen wrote. “It’s a low-risk signing, and if the Yanks get a bullpen piece out of it, all the better.”
Fellows is coming off the most productive season of his career, pitching 112.1 innings with 19 starts in Triple-A Indianapolis. He had a 4.41 ERA and career-best 1.39 WHIP.
Heyen noted that Fellows’ fastball may not be overpowering, leading him to rely on the slider.
“Based on Heyman’s positive comment on Fellows’ slider, his fastball may not quite be up to speed, given his career minor league strikeout rate is a rather pedestrian 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings,” Heyen wrote.
Fellows has already overcome plenty of adversity in his career. Shortly after being drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2019, the team’s medical staff discovered he had non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that affects white blood cells.
âIt was shocking,â Fellows told MILB.com. âLike any healthy, in-shape 21-year-old playing ball, I was not expecting it to be cancer. It felt like it was out of left field and it was overwhelming for me and my family.â
Fellows underwent treatment over the course of the next year and returned to baseball in 2021, though has spent the first four years of his career in the minors.
Yankees GM Explains Slow Approach to Offseason
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman explained this week that the team hasn’t been too active in the trade market due to the lack of mutual interest.
âI havenât accomplished anything,â Cashman said, via the New York Post. âWeâre just staying engaged, trying to match up with some things, but itâs been tough so far. Donât like the asks coming our way and I guess the opposing teams, what Iâm trying to pull from them on the trade stuff, theyâre not liking currently. But we do have some conversations that possibly could lead somewhere. But clearly if we had something, we would have done it.â
The Yankees still have plenty of time left to assemble their team, with Cody Bellinger still on the board and potentially re-signing. While the Yankees are expected to try bringing Bellinger back, MLB.com’s David Schoenfield believes they could do better by targeting Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker.
“Tucker is the better hitter, no doubt. Bellinger is a different hitter than when he won the NL MVP in 2019 and then hurt his shoulder â now focusing on more contact at the expense of exit velocity â but he has made it work,” he wrote.
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