Before Michael Tonkin was claimed by the New York Yankees off waivers, he was designated for assignment three times in the first month of the season.
The 34-year-old right-handed reliever had struggled in two separate stints with the New York Mets, which sandwiched a lone game with the Minnesota Twins, and had an ERA of 6.00 before the Yankees took a chance on him.
Admittedly, his first game with his new team didn't go so well, as he was thrust into action in extra innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 26. He ended up blowing a save opportunity and earning a loss, leading to expectations that he'd be DFA'd yet again.
But to the Yankees, this was only a minor hiccup in Tonkin's development, and they would be patient.
Since the arrival of pitching coach Matt Blake in 2020, the Bronx Bombers had earned a reputation of acquiring little-known or struggling pitchers, finding and building around their strengths, and molding them into reliable, high-leverage weapons; Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver have been great examples of this, with the former becoming the team's closer and the latter thriving as a multi-inning setup man.
Tonkin clearly had something that the Yankees liked; it was a combination of his pitch mix (a tight slider, a sweeping slider, and a sinker), and his funky delivery that deceives batters. But after identifying these strengths, the results have been brilliant.
The righty has since lowered his ERA to 2.45 on the season. Over 20.1 innings in pinstripes, Tonkin owns an astonishing 0.89 ERA and 0.93 WHIP, along with a .162 opposing batting average. After his rough debut in Milwaukee, he fired blanks in 12 of his next 13 appearances.
The ascension of Tonkin was solidified on Monday, when he was brought out in a save situation against the Kansas City Royals. Brimming with confidence, he pitched a scoreless ninth inning and struck out MJ Melendez (who represented the tying run) to nail down a 4-2 victory. It was his second career save, with his first coming on June 15, 2023 with the Atlanta Braves; however, that previous save was a 10-out opportunity with a five-run lead, so his save on Monday was a closer-type situation.
Although Tonkin didn't approach the save situation differently compared to his other appearances, he still felt great about the team trusting him with the game on the line.
“It’s great to be here on this team, in this position, and be in a spot where they’ve got faith in me to get the job done,” Tonkin said. “The first month (of the season) was less than ideal, but to be here now, it’s all worth it.”
Saying that Tonkin "reinvented himself" wouldn't be accurate or fair to him, because he's always been capable of pitching like this. But he is now using his skillset to the best of his ability, allowing him to become a vital component of a stout Yankee bullpen.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/yankees as Have the Yankees Unlocked Something in This Pitcher?.
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