Yankees Notebook: Ryan Yarbrough joins Team USA for World Baseball Classic
Another Yankee is set to represent the United States in the World Baseball Classic.
Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough joined Team USA’s active roster Sunday, replacing right-hander Joe Ryan, who is dealing with back inflammation.
Yarbrough, 34, went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA over 19 appearances, including eight starts, last season, his first with the Yankees.
He re-signed in the offseason for one year, $2.5 million.
Yarbrough is the fourth Yankee to join Team USA, along with Aaron Judge, David Bednar and Paul Goldschmidt.
He is one of 13 players from the Yankees organization set to participate in the WBC, with other notables including Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Great Britain); Austin Wells, Camilo Doval and Amed Rosario (Dominican Republic); Fernando Cruz and Elmer Rodriguez (Puerto Rico); and José Caballero (Panama).
Yarbrough is expected to be part of the Yankees’ Opening Day bullpen, though the veteran swingman offers rotation depth behind projected starters Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Luis Gil and David Weathers.
He joins a Team USA pitching staff headlined by Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, and that also features Logan Webb and Clayton Kershaw, as well as the Mets’ Clay Holmes and Nolan McLean.
Ryan, who was scratched from his first Spring Training start for the Minnesota Twins on Feb. 22 due to the back issue, still hopes to pitch in the WBC, but he won’t be eligible to rejoin the active roster unless Team USA advances out of pool play.
The 29-year-old Ryan, who went 13-10 with a 3.42 ERA last season, threw a successful bullpen session over the weekend and is expected to face hitters this week.
Team USA is scheduled to play exhibition games against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday and the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday before its first WBC game on Friday against Team Brazil.
To the Max
Fried is set to make his spring debut this week, as the Yankees pegged him as their probable starter for Tuesday’s exhibition game against Team Panama at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The left-handed Fried, 32, went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA with 189 strikeouts over 195.1 innings in 2025 — the first season of his eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees.
Tryin’ Ryan
Ryan McMahon is set to play shortstop on Tuesday and Thursday as the Yankees assess whether he could be an emergency option there, manager Aaron Boone told reporters Sunday.
“I expect he’ll be fine there, as natural a fielder as he is, but we’ll see how it plays out a little bit,” Boone said, according to MLB.com.
McMahon, the Yankees’ primary third baseman, is an elite fielder at the hot corner, and he also has considerable MLB experience playing first and second base.
But McMahon, 31, has made only two appearances at shortstop in the majors, with both coming in 2020 with the Rockies.
McMahon’s level of aptitude at shortstop could help the Yankees determine how they’ll fill out their bench.
With Anthony Volpe set to miss the beginning of the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery, Caballero is poised to be Yankees’ Opening Day shortstop.
Goldschmidt and Rosario are in line for bench spots, while newly signed outfielder Randal Grichuk — another right-handed platoon bat — seems to have a strong chance for one, too.
If the Yankees don’t feel comfortable with McMahon at shortstop, their final bench spot could go to utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera or infielder Max Schuemann.
But if McMahon proves capable at short, the Yankees could carry a third catcher in J.C. Escarra or 23-year-old outfielder Jasson Domínguez. Domínguez would figure to benefit from everyday reps at Triple-A, however, with the Yankees’ MLB outfield currently crowded.
Other Updates
Cody Bellinger is set to participate in live batting practice Tuesday and then return to the lineup Thursday after his nagging back showed improvement, Boone said, according to MLB.com.
Bellinger, 30, has not appeared in a game since Feb. 26 due to back tightness, a minor issue that’s cropped up on him in the past.
Giancarlo Stanton, meanwhile, is set to make his spring debut Tuesday against Team Panama. The slugger is continuing his regular maintenance in order to play through elbow inflammation — or tennis elbow — in both arms.
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