According to Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic, the New York Yankees are among the teams showing interest in veteran starting pitcher Kyle Hart. The left-hander spent this past season in the KBO, where he led the league in K-BB% (22.8%) and finished with a 2.69 ERA, and now he’s looking to make a return to the Major Leagues. In his first and only stint in the big leagues back in 2020, he posted a 15.55 ERA, but this time he’s got a firmer fastball and better pitch mix, displaying both the ability to miss bats and also keep the ball on the ground.
The success of Erick Fedde, who also went to the KBO to develop his arsenal before coming back to MLB, is an example of how spending a year overseas can help a pitcher make the strides necessary to become a solid arm stateside.
Kyle Hart Could Be an Interest Addition For the Yankees
The Yankees are shopping for left-handed bullpen help as evidenced by their interest in a reunion with LHP Tim Hill, who was awesome for them down the stretch after acquiring from the White Sox. Kyle Hart wouldn’t be slotted into a rotation spot as the roster is currently constructed, but he could slot into a long-relief role where he could provide insurance for the rotation and get some work as a multi-inning reliever who can eat innings.
When he first made his big-league debut with the Red Sox in 2020, his lack of fastball velocity allowed hitters to completely overwhelm him, but in the KBO he’s worked on developing more speed on his heater. In an interview with Chris Cotillo of MassLive, the left-hander mentioned that now he sits closer to 91 MPH, getting it up to 93-94 MPH on occasion, which is a step up from his 87-89 MPH fastball from his MLB days.
Hart was known for his slider when he came up through Boston’s farm system, and his ability to mix in a changeup, curveball, and sinker as well gives him quite a diverse repertoire.
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The Yankees have been busy adding bullpen help, but they’ve yet to add a left-handed reliever, as their only southpaws on the 40-man roster are Carlos Rodon and Max Fried. Kyle Hart may be more interested in taking a deal where he’d know he’ll start somewhere else, but for these contending teams in need of pitching depth, he could be far more enticing in a bullpen role where he can see a potential uptick in velocity and effectiveness.
Hart generated a 60% groundball rate and 28.8% K%, an excellent combination of damage prevention with swing-and-miss stuff, and he could be a creative solution to a team’s depth issues. If the Yankees trade Marcus Stroman, then JT Brubaker and Will Warren immediately become the next men up for a rotation spot, with Warren looking overwhelmed last season while Brubaker has yet to throw an MLB pitch since tearing his UCL in 2023 during Spring Training.
It likely wouldn’t be overly pricey to go out and sign Kyle Hart, fitting into the Yankees’ desire to not splurge now that they’re over the final Luxury Tax threshold, which brings a 100% tax on all expenses.