According to Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated, the New York Yankees are among the teams who attended the bullpen session of LHP Tyler Matzek, a veteran bullpen arm on the free agent market. He didn’t pitch in 2023 due to injury and struggled upon returning to the Braves in 2024, finding himself involved in a trade that brought Jorge Soler back to Atlanta. Scouts were reportedly impressed with what they saw from the veteran left-hander, who found success out of the bullpen with the Braves to the tune of a 3.40 ERA in 145.2 innings with them from 2020-2024.
The Yankees are casting a wide net on the pitching market, as earlier today Pat Ragazzo reported that they also attended Max Scherzer’s pro day at Cressey Sports Performance.
Tyler Matzek On the Yankees’ Radar As Search For Bullpen Help Continues
Injuries have gotten in the way of Tyler Matzek being a reliable weapon for the Atlanta Braves, but in his mid-30s, the left-hander is looking to re-establish himself in 2025. He was a key part of their run to the World Series in 2021, where they ultimately upset the Houston Astros as he’s proven to be one of their best weapons in big games. Across 20 postseason appearances, Matzek has recorded a 1.48 ERA with a 40.4% strikeout rate, dominating on the biggest stage.
When Matzek is on, he’s throwing his four-seamer often, as it has tons of spin and velocity that allows it to play at the top of the zone. Paired with a nasty slider that generates lots of vertical drop with some lateral movement, he’s able to pick up some whiffs at a high clip. The Yankees might be able to restore his value by moving him away from his 65-70% fastball usage and leaning more on his strong secondary weapons a little more often.
His fastball has lost some zip, but his slider remains a strong weapon for him, and the Yankees have shown an ability to get the most out of veterans as they did with Tim Hill last season.
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The Yankees could try and tinker with Tyler Matzek’s cutter a bit more, a pitch that would blend in between his four-seamer and slider well because it has some vertical ride and lateral movement. It’s a nice weapon for him that the Braves didn’t have him incorporate as much outside of 2020 when he generated a 50% Whiff Rate on the pitch with a .104 wOBA allowed and 112 Stuff+.
Few organizations love the cutter as much as the Yankees do, as they led Minor League Baseball in cutter usage last season by a significant margin. They’ve taught Clarke Schmidt, Gerrit Cole, and even Carlos Rodon new cutters that have helped them to various degrees over the last two years. If the Yankees could do the same with Tyler Matzek, they could make a cheap signing worthwhile, and he won’t cost much coming off of a disastrous 2024 season riddled with injuries and poor performances.