Yankees promote Maciejewski, DFA Bickford

Yankees promote Maciejewski, DFA Bickford

Currently in the mire of a horrendous June slump, the Yankees announced today they were designating righty Phil Bickford for assignment and selecting lefty Josh Maciejewski to the active roster.

Bickford had a rough five-game tenure with the Yankees. After his minor-league contract was selected by the Yankees on June 21, he let up eight earned runs over five innings — though five of those runs came on Saturday while recording just two outs. Coming on in relief of Jake Cousins, he conceded a double to George Springer, singles to pinch-hitter Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk, a walk to Bo Bichette, and a single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. cleared the bases with a two-bagger off Caleb Ferguson to transform a 3-1 Toronto lead into an insurmountable 8-1 lead. As Bickford had no options left, he needed to be DFA’d for the third time in his career in order to free up his spot on the 40-man roster. Perhaps it’s fitting the lasting memory of Phil Bickford as a Yankees will be when he ran out onto the field in relief of Carlos Rodón before being sent back to the bullpen.

Stepping into that roster spot is Josh Maciejewski, a lefty whose sole MLB appearance was in April for the Yankees 7-0 blowout against the Marlins. He pitched one inning without giving up a run. In the minors, however, Maciejewski has struggled, pitching to a 4.28 ERA in 27.1 innings for Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

The maneuver is another bullpen move that indicates the turmoil and inconsistency plaguing the Yankees bullpen at the moment. Currently 14th in terms of bullpen ERA and 19th in terms of K/9, the bullpen has not performed to the level Yankees fans have become accustomed to in recent years. While Maciejewski will not be a panacea (more of a fresh arm than anything else), the latest move amongst the flurry of bullpen activity hopefully indicates the front office is proactively trying to solve the bullpen issues.