Victor González, who was traded from the Dodgers to the Yankees this summer, was designated for assignment on Friday. In a simultaneous move, the organization signed former Dodgers right-handed pitcher Phil Bickford to a major league deal.
The Yankees acquired González, 28, in December as part of a trade that brought shortstop prospect Trey Sweeney to Los Angeles. González made 27 appearances for the Yankees this season, pitching 23.1 innings with a 3.86 ERA.
He’ll now move to waivers, where he hopes to find a new home.
In the equivalent trade, the Yankees are taking a chance on a different former Dodger, Phil Bickford. The 28-year-old spent parts of three seasons with the Dodgers from 2021 to 2023, and was most recently with the New York Mets through the end of 2023. Bickford’s career ERA was 4.11 in 152 appearances with Los Angeles and 4.62 in 25 outings with the Mets last year.
The Yankees signed him and promptly put him to the active roster as they shuffled their bullpen, which was severely tested this week against the Baltimore Orioles.
If the Dodgers want to re-sign González, he may be an intriguing addition.
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Yankees designate left-handed arm for assignment; call up two interesting righties.
The New York Yankees made some changes today to bolster their bullpen, but a new arm has been designated for assignment. Victor Gonzalez, obtained by the Yankees in a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers this winter, has been designated for assignment to make place on the roster and add another right-hander to the bullpen. Yoendrys Gomez replaces Ron Marinaccio, while Phil Bickford makes his Yankees debut in place of Victor Gonzalez.
Both of these arms have the ability to miss bats, and they might be valuable additions to the team’s present strikeout relief situation.
Yankees bring up two relievers and DFA a struggling left-hander
Phil Bickford is a fresh name for the fresh York Yankees, since he was acquired on a Minor League contract early in the season and has performed brilliantly for the Scranton RailRiders. In 22 games with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, the right-hander has a 2.93 ERA and 3.45 FIP, striking out 29.9% of batters and racking up a lot of whiffs. His four-seamer has a velocity of 92-94 MPH with a vertical movement of 15.7″. However, the pitch’s appeal lies in its low release height.
This allows him to develop a flatter vertical approach angle, which greatly improves the fastball’s performance in the zone. He had some success in 2021, pitching to a 2.81 ERA with the Dodgers, but in 2023, he had a 4.95 ERA with the Dodgers and Mets, struggling to strike out batters and walking a lot of them. His slider remains unsuccessful (.449 wOBA), but because his fastball is so consistent, he can rely on it and have a lot of success as a fastball-heavy right-hander.
Yoendrys Gomez, a familiar figure in the Bronx, will join Bickford, who has a 3.13 ERA and a 28.9% strikeout rate in 12 starts. Gomez has thrown three innings with seven strikeouts in two outings with the Yankees, and he relies on a decent four-seam fastball as well as some terrific breaking pitches that he can use to produce plenty of strikeouts due to his high spin rates.
The right-hander is only 24, but he may be a multi-inning bullpen weapon for this squad. He has the tools to succeed in a bullpen position, and he deserves a longer run than the Yankees have given him in his previous two attempts. The Yankees were searching for more swing-and-miss upside, and the decision to designate Victor Gonzalez demonstrates a sense of urgency on their part to acquire bullpen quality.
His 3.86 ERA with the Yankees was deceiving because he walked more hitters than he struck out and struggled during his stint in the Bronx. Gonzalez will be placed on waivers, where a team can claim him, or he will be assigned to Triple-A, where he will have the opportunity to work on the command issues that plagued him this season.
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