Ross Atkins has made several head-scratching decisions while running the show for the Toronto Blue Jays, and letting Ryan Yarbrough go, especially to the New York Yankees, is proving to be one of them.
Yarbrough is far from flashy, but over the course of his eight-year career, he's filled a variety of roles and has been effective in nearly all of them. He might not have the best stuff in the world, but he consistently finds ways to get the job done no matter when or for how long he's used.
Instead of doing so in a Blue Jays uniform, Yarbrough is succeeding in his typical Swiss Army Knife role with a hated division rivals. This is yet another move Blue Jays fans can point to when begging to see Atkins let go when his contract runs out at the end of this season.
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Blue Jays have come to regret letting Ryan Yarbrough land in Yankees' lap
Yarbrough was never seen as a lock to make the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster since he had signed a Minor League deal with the team over the offseason. But given the team's lack of pitching depth, it felt that a pitcher as versatile as he is could be valuable for them. Atkins, for whatever reason, disagreed, and let him go.
Had the Jays had a loaded rotation and bullpen, letting Yarbrough go would've been fine, but that's far from the case. Instead of rostering Yarbrough, the Jays had Jacob Barnes, another non-roster invitee, make the team in their bullpen. Barnes allowed eight runs in eight innings of work before predictably getting DFA'd after making only 10 appearances for Toronto.
On the flip side, Yarbrough has looked fantastic under Matt Blake's tutelage and seems to only be getting better. He pitched well for the Yankees in long relief to begin the year, and has allowed just five runs in 20 innings of work (2.25 ERA) in four starts since joining New York's rotation.
The Blue Jays had a full rotation to begin the year, but Max Scherzer landed on the IL after just one start and hasn't pitched since. Yarbrough could have easily begun the year as the team's long reliever and slipped into the rotation after Scherzer went down. The team has been searching for his replacement ever since.
Would Yarbrough pitch as well in Toronto as he has in New York? Perhaps not. Having Blake, arguably the best pitching coach in the game, by his side has undoubtedly helped. Still, Yarbrough had a 2.01 ERA in 12 appearances and 31.1 innings of work for Toronto down the stretch last season, and was undoubtedly a better option than Barnes to make the team out of spring training.
As the Blue Jays continue to search for viable pitching depth, they can't help but regret letting Yarbrough leave, especially with him joining a division rival.