The Yankees are always searching for hidden value in their pitching staff, and Yerry De Los Santos might just be their latest bullpen find. The 27-year-old right-hander spent last season with the team’s Triple-A affiliate, logging 59 innings with a 4.12 ERA. While those numbers don’t jump off the page, there’s reason to believe De Los Santos has the tools to become a legitimate major league asset.
A Ground Ball Specialist With Upside
De Los Santos isn’t a high-strikeout reliever, but what he does well is limit hard contact and keep the ball on the ground—two qualities that often go underappreciated. He has 50 innings of major league experience under his belt, posting a 4.14 ERA, but the underlying metrics suggest he could be even better with a few refinements.
His primary weapon is a 95 mph sinker that produced a .167 batting average and .241 slugging rate against in 2023. His changeup also played well, but his slider got hit around, allowing a .267 batting average and .600 slugging percentage. The issue? It doesn’t generate much movement, offering just 33.2 inches of vertical drop, which is below average.
A Potential Pitching Lab Project
If the Yankees see De Los Santos as a bullpen piece with real potential, they’ll likely work on refining his slider. Pitching coach Matt Blake has had success helping pitchers develop a sweeper—a pitch that generates more horizontal movement rather than the gyro-style slider that De Los Santos currently throws. If they can tweak the shape of his breaking ball, it could complement his sinker and changeup in a way that makes him a far more difficult pitcher to square up.
Boone Sees Progress
Manager Aaron Boone took notice of De Los Santos during a recent bullpen session, highlighting the improvements he made at the end of last season in Scranton.
“I like what I’m seeing, without question. There’s a lot of interesting guys that can factor in this year,” Boone said. “De Los Santos who went today was really good. Was sharp. Made some real improvements in the last few months of Triple-A. Locked in some pitches. Today, I thought his sinker, slider, and split were all good pitches for him. Commanded how he wanted to. So it’s good to see him looking the way he finished the season in Scranton last year.”
The Yankees Have a Potential Sleeper Reliever
Down the stretch in Triple-A, De Los Santos posted a 2.89 ERA over his final 17 appearances, picking up four saves along the way. If he carries that momentum into spring training and refines his arsenal, he could find himself breaking camp with the big-league team.
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The Yankees have built a reputation for turning overlooked arms into high-quality bullpen pieces. De Los Santos might be next in line.