Former Pirates Reliever Released by Yankees

The Yankees designated Brubaker for assignment on Tuesday. After clearing waivers, he is a free agent and in search of his next team. With New York this season, Brubaker threw a 3.38 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 16 innings during 12 games as a relief pitcher.

Brubaker was drafted by the Pirates in the 6th round of the 2015 MLB Draft, going 187th overall. He debuted during the shortened 2020 season and had two somewhat rough seasons as a starting pitcher in Pittsburgh. In 2023, Brubaker underwent Tommy John surgery, missing the entire season and the 2024 season to recover. In March 2024, the Pirates traded the right-hander to the Yankees in exchange for infield prospect Keiner Delgado, who is currently with the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers.

Brubaker debuted for New York on June 21of this year (after a full two seasons of rehabilitation) against the Baltimore Orioles and threw three scoreless innings in his first two games. Things took a turn for the worse when Brubaker took the mound on June 29 against the Athletics, where he threw a dismal two hits and four runs (all earned) in one-third of an inning.

Relief pitching is one of the Yankees' weakest spots. They traded three prospects to the Pirates ahead of last week's MLB trade deadline in exchange for closer and veteran David Bednar. While Bednar's first outing with New York left little to be desired, his most recent game made Yankees history.

The Pirates are back in action tonight against the Cincinnati Reds, which marks the return of another once-favorite player, Ke'Bryan Hayes. Team ownership rocked the Bucco fanbase this trade deadline with the trades of Bednar and Hayes, as both players went to new teams in exchange for prospects. With Tim Mayza and Justin Lawrence still absent from the bullpen, Pittsburgh will be asking a lot of starting ace Paul Skenes to secure a victory from PNC Park.