Ryan Yarbrough DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Free-agent left-handed reliever Ryan Yarbrough signed a one-year deal for $2 million with $500,000 in incentives with the New York Yankees on Monday, a source tells ESPN's Jorge Castillo. Yarbrough was in spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays but decided to opt out of his minor-league deal on Sunday to become a free agent. The 33-year-old veteran southpaw spent 2024 with the Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, going 5-2 with a career-best 3.19 ERA (4.64 FIP), a 1.03 WHIP, one save, 65 strikeouts and 32 walks in 98 2/3 relief innings. With veteran Carlos Carrasco and pitching prospect Will Warren starting in the rotation for the Yankees due to injuries to Gerrit Cole (elbow), Lui Gil (lat) and Clarke Schmidt (shoulder), Yarbrough should operate in a bulk-relief role for the Yankees to begin the season. Yarbrough was fortunate to pitch as well as he did last year, and the soft-tosser won't have much fantasy value in 2025.

Left-handed pitcher Ryan Yarbrough signed a minor-league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Yarbrough will also be invited to spring training. Yarbrough spent time with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Blue Jays during the 2024 campaign. With the Dodgers, Yarbrough posted a 3.74 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP across 67 1/3 innings. However, the southpaw held a strong 2.01 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP across 31 1/3 innings with Toronto. He generated an elite 29.4 percent hard-hit rate, which placed him in the 99th percentile among qualified pitchers. However, Yarbrough only generated strikeouts at a 16.3 percent rate. Given his success with Toronto last season, Yarbrough could have a good opportunity to earn a spot in the bullpen. Fantasy managers should expect Yarbrough to operate as a long relief option if he were to crack the Opening Day roster. However, given his low strikeout upside, he will only have value in deeper AL-only formats if given occasional starts.

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Ryan Burr will serve as the team's opener on Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels at Rogers Center, according to the team. Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough will likely be used in the bulk-relief role. This will be Burr's first "start" of the year. It's a great matchup against the light-hitting Halos, but Burr isn't going to go deep enough in this game to make him a realistic streaming candidate in fantasy. In 19 relief outings in 2024, he's posted a 5.40 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 23 strikeouts and eight walks in 18 1/3 innings in his first year in Toronto. Yarbrough, who came over in the trade that sent outfielder Kevin Kiermaier to the Los Angeles Dodgers, has allowed four earned runs on four hits (one homer) while walking three and striking out three in his four relief appearances for the Jays. Stay away from both Burr and Yarbrough on Thursday.