New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman made another move this week, signing relief pitcher Darren O’Day, formerly of the Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles. After trading Adam Ottavino to the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees opened up $8.15 million in available financial flexibility, and it was only a matter of time before they secured another bullpen arm to support the team.
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Cashman has already allocated plenty of resources toward the starting pitching rotation, even if some of the players are coming off significant injuries. He has acquired former Cy Young award-winning pitcher Corey Kluber and traded for Pittsburgh Pirates’ homegrown talent Jameson Taillon.
Taillon is good friends with Gerrit Cole, who both developed in the Pirates’ farm system. Now that both players are on the Yankees, the expectation is they could be a dynamic duo, working off one another and their chemistry.
What are the Yankees getting in Darren O’Day?
However, it was only a matter of time before the Yankees bolstered the bullpen, and O’Day had a phenomenal 2020 season, despite a small sample size. Over 16.1 innings, he recorded a 1.10 ERA with 12.12 strikeouts per nine. He’s not a high ground-ball rate pitcher but records outs regularly and has been a consistent relief arm throughout his career.
His last significant sample size was back in 2017 when he pitched 60.1 innings and recorded a 3.43 ERA. He has always hovered in the double-digit strikeout per nine percentage, and routinely leaves batters on base. He has a career average of 83.7% left on base, an astronomical number that suggests he works his way out of trouble well, especially when brought in to help in tough situations.
The only issue with O’Day is that he is 38 years old but is a 6-foot-4 and 220-pound pitcher, and it seems as if he has a bit of juice left in the tank. The Yankees might be getting the last bit of gas, but he can be an influential player for the team in 2021.