Former New York Mets starter signs with Yankees

Blackburn had a tumultuous tenure with the Mets, marred by injuries and inconsistency. Dealing with both a knee and shoulder injury, the 31-year-old had two stints on the IL and was unavailable for the majority of the 2025 season.

When he was healthy, Blackburn struggled to find a role on the team and was relatively ineffective. In seven appearances this year, the veteran posted a 6.85 ERA across 23.2 innings.

Blackburn made just five starts with the Mets in 2024 after coming over in a trade from Oakland, pitching to a 5.18 ERA in 24.1 innings before missing the rest of the season with injury. He was originally placed on the 15-day IL with a hand contusion, but ended up undergoing a cerebrospinal leak repair that ruled him out for the year.

His bad injury luck continued into 2025 when he suffered a right knee injury that forced him to miss the beginning of the season. Blackburn finally appeared for the Mets in early June for a spot start, but bounced back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen before returning to the IL with a shoulder impingement.

Blackburn's last game with the Mets was a five-inning relief effort against the Atlanta Braves on August 13th. Just a few days later, he was released as the corresponding move to call up top pitching prospect Nolan McLean for his MLB debut.

Around the trade deadline, it was reported that the Mets were shopping Blackburn, which spelled the beginning of the end of his time in Queens. On his career, Blackburn holds a 4.96 ERA across 93 games; he earned an All-Star appearance in 2022 when he posted a 4.28 ERA with 89 strikeouts in his 21 starts for the A's.

Blackburn now joins a Yankees squad that enters the Boston series with a lead in the AL Wild Card hunt. The club is riding a five-game win streak and will likely lean on Blackburn for a relief effort during the crucial divisional series.

While things never clicked with the Mets, Blackburn can provide value with his length out of the bullpen as a former starter with nine years of major league experience.