River Avenue Blues

River Ave. Blues ยป Yoshinori Tateyama

Yankees sign Bruce Billings, re-sign Yoshinori Tateyama

by 11 Comments

Via Matt Eddy: The Yankees have signed right-hander Bruce Billings to a minor league contract. I’m not sure if he received an invitation to Spring Training. The 28-year-old had a 4.31 ERA (3.96 FIP) in 148.1 innings for the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate last summer. He’s been at that level for four years now. Billings has four big league appearances to his credit, allowing ten runs in seven innings for the Rockies and A’s back in 2011. He’ll be counted on to soak up innings for Triple-A Scranton this summer.

The Yankees have also re-signed righty Yoshinori Tateyama to a minor league deal, according to Eddy. They acquired him from the Rangers for cash in the middle of last season. Tateyama, 38, had a 1.70 ERA (2.18 FIP) in 42.1 innings for Triple-A Scranton after the trade. He has 61 innings of big league experience, posting a 5.75 ERA (4.54 FIP) for Texas from 2011-12. Tateyama’s fun to watch because hes a sidearmer who throws a screwball. Here’s proof. I don’t think either he or Billings will have much of a chance to see time with the Yankees in 2014 unless something goes horribly, horribly wrong. They’re (deep) depth moves.

Yankees sign Mike Zagurski, acquire Yoshinori Tateyama

by 5 Comments

The Yankees made a pair of minor moves today. First, they signed left-handed reliever Mike Zagurski to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton, according to Chris Cotillo. He can opt-out of the deal on August 15th if he’s not in the big leagues. The Yankees had trade interest in the 30-year-old last month, so it’s no surprise they went after him as a free agent. Zagurski allowed ten runs in six innings for the Pirates after being called up a few weeks ago, and he’s held big league lefties to a .333 wOBA in 32.2 career innings.

The Yankees have also acquired right-handed reliever Yoshinori Tateyama from the Rangers for future considerations, reports John Blake. He isn’t on the 40-man roster and will presumably join Zagurski in Triple-A. The 37-year-old owns a 5.75 ERA and 4.54 FIP in 61 career innings with Texas. He’s a funky low-arm slot guy who has held righties to a .227 wOBA in 36.1 career innings. Lefties tagged him for a .409 wOBA. Tateyama is interesting only because he throws a screwball. Here’s a GIF. New York is just loading up on some minor league bullpen depth for the second half, that’s all. I guess they could deal a reliever for a bat, but how often does that actually happen?