It didn’t take long for Paul Blackburn to find a new team.
Less than a week after he was designated for assignment by the Mets, the veteran right-hander joined the Yankees with the expectation he will pitch out of the bullpen.
“I think it’s a good place to start over,” Blackburn said. “Just trying to contribute any way I can here for the rest of this year and go from there.”
The Yankees added Blackburn, 31, to the active roster before Thursday night’s series opener against the Boston Red Sox in the Bronx and optioned fellow right-hander Allan Winans to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Blackburn went 0-3 with a 6.85 ERA in seven appearances, including four starts, with the Mets this season, during which he endured multiple stints on the injured list as he dealt with right knee inflammation, an illness and a right shoulder impingement.
He returned from the shoulder injury on Aug. 13 and limited the Atlanta Braves to two runs in five innings in relief that day.
That was Blackburn’s final appearance with the Mets before they designated him for assignment on Saturday. They announced his release on Tuesday.
“It’s been weird, honestly,” Blackburn said. “I didn’t know what to expect or what to do with it. Just tried to stay ready and continued to be available in case someone called.”
The Yankees called on Tuesday, said Blackburn, who then spent Wednesday navigating flight delays and cancellations as tried to travel from Idaho to meet his new team in Tampa.
The flight issues ultimately prevented Blackburn from being activated for Wednesday’s game, and he instead arrived at Newark Airport at around 1 a.m. on Thursday.
Blackburn brings “depth” and “length” to the Yankees bullpen, manager Aaron Boone said.
“Our pen right now is not filled with a lot of guys that give us a lot of length,” Boone said. “Obviously [he has] a track record of success in the big leagues [and is] a guy that’s built up that can give us some coverage if we get in a situation where we need some real length.”
An All-Star in 2022, Blackburn entered Thursday with a 4.96 ERA in 93 appearances, including 86 starts, over nine MLB seasons, the first seven-and-a-half of which he spent with the A’s.
Blackburn repeatedly experienced bad injury luck after the Mets acquired him before the 2024 trade deadline. A right hand contusion that he suffered on a comebacker and a cerebrospinal fluid leak that ultimately ended his 2024 season preceded this year’s injuries.
“I feel like I got myself into a good spot, physically and timing-wise, throughout my mechanics,” Blackburn said. “I feel like I was in a good spot [for] the last month. I feel like I’m still in that spot.”
REHABBING RELIEVERS
Fernando Cruz is set to pitch in another rehab outing on Friday, likely as a four-out appearance.
It will be the fourth rehab appearance for Cruz (oblique), who has not pitched more than one inning any of the previous three.
“I know the temptation will be to lean on him, as good as he’s been all year and what we think of him, so I want him to have a little bit of volume built so that when he does get here, he’s ready to jump into any role,” Boone said.
Cruz, 35, has been on the IL since June 30. The right-hander owns a 3.00 ERA in 32 appearances.
Ryan Yarbrough is also due for at least one more rehab appearance, with the Yankees wanting the left-handed swingman to continue to build up his pitch count.
Yarbrough (oblique) threw 50 pitches over 3.1 innings in his previous outing on Wednesday.
“With a little bit of a lack of starting depth here down the stretch, we think it’s important to build that out,” Boone said.
Yarbrough has been on the IL since June 22. He has a 3.90 ERA over 16 appearances, including eight starts.
Boone did not have an update on Jonathan Loáisiga, whom the manager said Wednesday likely has a flexor strain.
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