The New York Yankees had to make a move with their pitching staff recently after Ryan Yarbrough hit the 15-day injured list due to an oblique strain. To combat the loss of Yarbrough, the Yankees called up fellow left-hander Jayvien Sandridge from Triple-A.
However, Sandridge’s stint with the Yankees’ big-league ballclub was very short lived, as he was sent back down to the minors on Sunday. It actually represented the second time he was called up and then demoted over the last week. New York will now be recalling righty Allan Winans.
But did the Yankees make a mistake here?
Sandridge — who joined New York on a minor-league deal during the offseason — is a very intriguing arm in spite of his rather pedestrian lifetime 3.82 ERA on the minor-league level (he entered the minors with the Baltimore Orioles back in 2018).
Why is he intriguing? Well, the 26-year-old is a strikeout machine, boasting a career average of 13.4 punchouts per nine innings over seven minor-league seasons. His walk rate has been a huge problem, as he is also issuing 7.2 free passes per nine frames, and that cannot be ignored.
However, Sandridge’s strikeout numbers make it blatantly obvious that he has terrific stuff, and much like Fernando Cruz, it’s something that the Yankees should be willing to work with.
New York is no stranger to finding diamonds in the rough as far as pitchers are concerned. Look no further than Luke Weaver to see that. Clearly, the Yanks saw something in Sandridge to sign him to begin with, and they were confident enough in his ability to promote him to the major-league roster (albeit briefly).
Perhaps the Yankees should actually give the Hagerstown, Md. native a chance, especially with all of the injuries they have incurred in their pitching staff. The control issues are definitely frightening, but his penchant for fanning batters is equally as tantalizing.
