Yankees' Affinity for This One Player Has Always Been Puzzling

Late last season, the New York Yankees signed pitcher Paul Blackburn after he was released by the New York Mets.

Usually, it's Steve Cohen who instantly jumps to poach ex-Yankees players regardless of who they are (is the bat boy next?), but this time, it was the Yanks playing the role of heel.

Regardless, the Yankees clearly liked something about Blackburn, which was why they used him here and there over the final month-plus of the regular season and even had him on their playoff roster.

Blackburn made eight appearances for New York during the 2025 campaign, logging a 5.28 ERA. Now, to be fair, that ERA was largely inflated by one bad game for the right-hander, as he gave up seven runs to the Boston Red Sox in his first outing, but it wasn't like his stuff was blowing anyone away.

Yes, Blackburn made sense as a long-relief option with Ryan Yarbrough out with an injury at the time, and he did register a very solid 4.00 K/BB ratio. But no one who watched Blackburn was ever wowed by anything he did.

The Yankees, however, liked him so much that they re-signed him during the offseason ... even though they also decided to keep Yarbrough.

I understand that one is a righty and the other is a lefty, but they are both very similar pitchers who fill very similar niches.

Yarbrough at least pitched very well in some brief action as a starter last season, so I get re-signing him. He has some value. But why Blackburn?

This year, Blackburn has made 15 appearances and one start, posting a 3.22 ERA and 3.81 FIP. Respectable numbers? Sure, but he also lays claim to a 1.433 WHIP and 1.50 K/BB ratio. He has been inducing ground balls, which is nice, but it seems like only a matter of time before he implodes.

That's why the Yankees' decision to demote Yovanny Cruz almost immediately after promoting him has fans frustrated. Sure, Cruz was wild in his last outing, but he throws 102 mph with nasty movement. He has a higher ceiling than Blackburn, and again, New York already has Yarbrough.

Why do the Yanks insist on keeping Blackburn around?

Having both pitchers on the roster seems like a waste of a bullpen spot ... one that Cruz could be filling.

Chances are, the Yankees will add at least one reliever between now and the trade deadline, and at that point, they may decide to dump one of Blackburn or Yarbrough.

But they really shouldn't have ever kept both arms to begin with.

Blackburn should have been allowed to walk via free agency, but for whatever reason, Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone (and perhaps even Matt Blake) have a strange affinity for the 32-year-old with a lifetime 4.89 ERA and 1.415 WHIP.

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