The Yankees’ middle-innings mess just took another turn, and this time Angel Chivilli is back on the injured list at Triple-A Scranton.
Chivilli, who had already been demoted after a rough outing in which he allowed three home runs and was pushed close to 40 pitches, landed on the 7-Day IL for the second time this season. His first injury stint came with a shoulder issue. Before that latest blow-up, he had been one of the few reliable arms the Yankees trusted in tight games, logging 13 1/3 innings with two runs allowed, none earned, and 13 strikeouts, after starting the year with 2 1/3 innings.
That stretch mattered for a bullpen that has been trying to survive the sixth inning one body at a time. Fernando Cruz has faded, leaving Paul Blackburn, Brent Headrick, and David Bednar to handle high-leverage work, while Will Warren, Ryan Weathers, and Clarke Schmidt are now being asked to help steady things. Earlier in the year, Chivilli had been the answer after Ryan Yarbrough created a mess on the day of the trade deadline.
Now the Yankees are turning to another new name in the organization: Justin Topa. The veteran right-hander was signed to a minor league deal and added to the RailRiders roster, replacing Chivilli on the Triple-A staff. Mitch Garver was also added to the RailRiders.
Topa’s numbers do not scream rescue mission. He posted a 57.4% ground-ball rate with the Twins this season, but also carried an 8.05 ERA across 19 innings. In his big-league career, he has a 4.27 ERA in 172 games, and he was released by the Royals from their Triple-A Omaha club earlier this week.
For now, Chivilli and Kervin Castro remain the latest short-lived fixes in a bullpen spot the Yankees have been trying to patch all year.
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Aaron Judge Is Expanding His Profile Well Beyond The Yankees
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CardVault, co-founded by Brady, has grown to 17 stores and is aiming much higher from here, with a long-term target of 100 locations. Brady and co-founder Ed Kane have both pointed to the collecting worlds community appeal and steady growth, and Judges involvement gives the company another marquee name as it tries to keep riding that momentum. [Read more 🡒]