The New York Yankees have signed right-hander Jordany Ventura to a Minor League free agent deal according to their transactions page. He previously spent his entire professional career with the New York Mets, as he made it up to Double-A last season as he had a strong season as a reliever. Injuries limited his inning total to just 48.2, but in that sample size he pitched to a 2.96 ERA with 55 strikeouts, and the Yankees could view him as upper-level MiLB depth for the organization.
Given the Yankees track record of developing arms, Ventura could be an interesting candidate to watch as a multi-inning weapon who can miss bats and improve with a new organization.
Jordany Ventura Joins Yankees On Minor League Deal
Signed to an MiLB deal, Jordanny Ventura joins the Yankees and will likely be assigned to the upper-levels of the Minor Leagues after he had success with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in Double-A as a reliever. He struck out 31.4% of batters faced across five appearances while not allowing a run, and Ventura seemed to flourish in a role as a multi-inning reliever instead of as a full-time starter.
His four-seamer ranges wildly in terms of velocity, but he settles around 93-94 MPH with the ability to reach 96 MPH on the radar gun. It gets decent vertical movement with a ton of spin, but the Yankees will need to help further hone Ventura’s mechanics. His sinker, cutter, slider, curveball, and changeup are also prominent parts of his arsenal.
Ventura’s deep repertoire coupled with his swing-and-miss abilities could give the organization a variety of ways to maximize his talent in the short spurts he pitches in as a reliever now. Velocity and movement are areas the Yankees have had success developing, as Sam Briend and Matt Blake head one of the best pitching development labs in the league.
The right-hander will turn 25 next July and could be big-league ready as soon as 2025 if he stays healthy and makes the right strides.