Yankees agree to two-year, $11.5 million deal with Tommy Kahnle, who returns to his old team for the first time in three years, winning a battle with the R Sox.

Last Updated on 12/07/2022 by てんしょく飯

According to information obtained by Mark Feinsand of Major League Baseball, the Yankees have agreed to a two-year, $11.5 million contract with Tommy Kahnle, a relief pitcher who had been a free agent with the Dodgers.

The Yankees won the battle with their nemesis.

Kahnle joined the Yankees in the fifth round of the 2010 draft, played for other teams, and then played for the Yankees from 2017-20, making this his third stint with the Yankees. The Red Sox were also interested in Kane Lee, but the Yankees won the battle with their nemesis.

Kahnle, now 33, pitched 12 2/3 innings in 13 games for the Dodgers this season, going 0-0 with one save, one hold, a 2.84 earned run average, and 14 strikeouts. He underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2020 while with the Yankees and missed all of 2021, the first year of a two-year contract he signed with the Dodgers, but returned to the lineup in May of this year after completing rehabilitation.

He returned to the lineup in mid-September after a prolonged absence due to inflammation in his right forearm, and although his four appearances in May were erratic with a 6.75 earned-run average, he has pitched well in his nine appearances since September with a 1.04 earned-run average, demonstrating his full recovery and also appearing in three games in the post-season.

Kahnle was selected in the 2013 offseason Rule 5 draft and moved from the Yankees to the Rockies. He made his major league debut the following year, 2014, with the White Sox before returning to his old team, the Yankees, in a July 2017 trade.

In 2019, he pitched in a career-high 72 games, going 3-2 with 27 holds and a 3.67 earned-run average. He was part of a winning pattern at times and is expected to be one of the core members of the bullpen next season, his first return to the Yankees in three years.

The Yankees’ bullpen posted a 2.97 earned-run average in relief this season, the third best in the majors. Although Aroldis Chapman, Zach Britton, and Chad Green became FAs, they were not key members of the team, so their impact on the strength of the team was not as great. Kahnle will form a strong bullpen with Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loaisiga, Wandy Peralta, Lou Trivino, Ron Marinaccio, and Lucas Littky.