The Yankees have been keeping things relatively low-key this offseason, and Saturday’s move to re-sign right-hander Paul Blackburn fits right into that theme. The 32-year-old pitcher is returning to the Bronx on a one-year, $2 million deal-hardly the kind of splash that dominates headlines, but a move that speaks to the Yankees’ current approach: stay the course, reinforce the depth, and hope internal improvements push the needle.
Blackburn’s journey to this point has been anything but linear. After spending eight seasons with the Oakland Athletics primarily as a starter, he was acquired by the Mets at the 2024 trade deadline.
But things didn’t quite pan out in Queens. Following a cerebrospinal fluid leak repair procedure late in the season, Blackburn began 2025 on the injured list and eventually transitioned into a bullpen role.
In seven appearances for the Mets-four of them starts-he logged 23.2 innings with a 6.85 ERA and a 1.648 WHIP. Not exactly numbers that inspire confidence.
The Mets eventually cut ties, and in August, the Yankees scooped him up. That’s where things started to turn.
Blackburn made eight appearances out of the bullpen for the Yankees, totaling 15.1 innings with a 5.28 ERA and a 1.304 WHIP. While those numbers won’t jump off the page, they don’t tell the whole story.
After a rocky debut where he gave up seven runs in 3.1 innings, Blackburn settled in. Over his next 12 innings, he allowed just three runs, struck out 14, and walked only two.
That stretch showed flashes of the reliability and command that once made him a serviceable starter in Oakland.
This signing isn’t about star power-it’s about utility. Blackburn gives the Yankees a versatile arm who’s shown he can eat innings in both starting and relief roles. With the wear and tear of a 162-game season, having someone who can bridge the gap between the rotation and the bullpen matters more than it often gets credit for.
Of course, not everyone sees it that way-especially across town. Mets fans didn’t waste any time jumping on social media to poke fun at the Yankees for bringing back a pitcher their team had already moved on from.
The sarcasm was thick, with comments like “That’s their big signing!” and “They wanna be the Mets so bad.”
It’s the kind of back-and-forth that fuels the New York baseball rivalry, even in December.
But for the Yankees, this move isn’t about winning the offseason headlines. It’s about rounding out a roster with arms they trust. Blackburn may not be front-page news, but in a long season where depth is everything, he could prove to be a quietly valuable piece of the puzzle.
So while Mets fans get their jokes off, the Yankees are betting that Blackburn’s late-season form wasn’t a fluke-and that a full offseason with the team might help him build on that momentum.