Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Yankees made a plethora of moves today. The Yankees announced that they had designated pitcher Alfredo Aceves for assignment, along with other roster moves. The Bombers also optioned pitcher Preston Claiborne to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre and called up pitcher Jose Ramirez from Triple-A SWB. To round out the roster moves, the Yankees activated pitcher Wade LeBlanc, who they had claimed off waivers yesterday from the Los Angeles Angels.
The two big-leaguers, Jose Ramirez and Wade LeBlanc, will be used as relievers, with Ramirez slotted as a middle-inning hurler, and LeBlanc slotted as a long reliever. Claiborne will go back to being a late-inning guy for the Railraiders of Scranton Wilkes-Barre. However, Aceves will need to find another team as he will either be claimed or released.
Alfredo Aceves had struggled early on, since being called up by the Yankees. He had posted a 1-2 record to go along with a horrific 6.52 ERA out of the bullpen. Along with these bad numbers, he only registered an 63 ERA+ with a high 10.7 H/9 in 19.1 innings of work. In his seven-year career, Aceves recorded a 31-16 mark with a career 3.83 ERA over 380.1 innings.
Preston Claiborne will look to find his consistency again in the minors as he had a couple great outings since being called up to the ‘pen in late-April, but he then faltered, resulting in a 4.63 ERA in May to go along with a total ERA of 3.57 and a record of 2-0. He did strikeout fourteen batters in 17.2 innings of work.
Jose Ramirez was a lights-out pitcher in Triple-A. At Scranton Wilkes-Barre, Ramirez posted an electrifying 0.84 ERA in seven appearances, along with a 2-0 record and an outstand 11.0 K/9. Ramirez is not expected to be up for long, so he will need to make a quick impact out of the Yankee bullpen.
Wade LeBlanc did wonderfully at Triple-A Salt Lake (Angels affiliate), where he went 5-1 over nine starts with a 3.69 ERA over 53.2 innings. LeBlanc does, in fact, have seven years of big league experience, as he is 20-32 in his career, boasting a 4.53 ERA over 423.1 innings. He has shifted from the rotation to the bullpen, and back, many times in his career, but he will just be a long reliever for the pinstripes.