The Yankees made a quiet but calculated move on Monday evening, signing 28-year-old right-handed pitcher Jake Woodford to a minor-league deal, via MLB Trade Rumors. Just a day after opting out of his contract with the Rockies, Woodford finds himself with a better developmental program—and a fresh opportunity.
The Yankees love a reclamation project, and Woodford fits the mold.
A Mixed Bag of Experience
Woodford has logged 219.2 major league innings over his career, primarily with the St. Louis Cardinals, but is coming off a rough 2023 split between the White Sox and Pirates. He posted a 7.97 ERA last season, struggling with consistency and command.
Despite the ugly numbers, he showed flashes back in 2022 when he posted a 2.23 ERA across 48.1 innings, proving he can find success when things click. He’s not going to blow hitters away—his fastball averages just 91.4 mph—but that’s never been his game.
Woodford relies on ground balls, and his 45.1% career ground ball rate speaks to that. He pitches to contact and tries to avoid barrels by changing speeds and locations.
The Pitch Mix the Yankees Can Work With
What likely drew the Yankees in was his sinker-sweeper-cutter combination. They’ve made a habit of taking pitchers with raw movement and polishing them into useful depth arms, and pitching coach Matt Blake has had plenty of success with this type of profile.
The issue is that Woodford’s sinker wasn’t fooling anyone last season. Opponents hit .366 with a .592 slugging rate against the pitch—brutal numbers that need immediate addressing.
But the sweeper offers some intrigue. It has 4.7 inches more vertical movement than league average, and that gives the Yankees something to work with. They’ve had success turning fringe arms with a single plus pitch into serviceable options, and Woodford may be the next in line.
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A Low-Risk Depth Play
At worst, Woodford gives the Yankees another arm to stash in Triple-A Scranton. With their rotation depth already being tested due to injuries, having another pitcher in the mix who can go multiple innings is a wise insurance policy.
The Yankees won’t be counting on him to break camp or eat big innings early, but if Matt Blake and the analytics team can tweak his pitch usage or refine his command, Woodford could become a useful piece when the inevitable need for extra arms arises.