00:00Yankees have finally made a move this offseason.
00:02They've acquired left-handed starting pitcher Ryan Weathers from the Miami Marlins for four minor leaguers.
00:07Weathers has only made 24 starts in the last two seasons, missing time due to forearm and lat strains.
00:13But in those 24 starts, he has a 3-7-4 ERA in 125 innings with 117 strikeouts.
00:20He's the son of former Yankee David Weathers, who pitched in 21 games across the 96 and 97 seasons,
00:26and actually had a 0.82 ERA in seven games during the 96 postseason.
00:32I welcome on Baseball Nerd Thomas Nestico to tell us a little bit more about the Southpaw.
00:37Thomas, how are you doing, man?
00:40I'm doing well. Thanks for having me on.
00:42Of course. So we finally got Yankees news this offseason.
00:46Thomas, what kind of pitcher can you tell us the Yankees got here from the Miami Marlins?
00:50Yeah, with Ryan Weathers, he actually kind of sprung up a lot last spring.
00:57So spring of 2025, with increased velocity, he was hitting up to like 99 miles an hour from the left side.
01:04That's always excellent to see.
01:06And within the Marlins, I guess, that new pitching lab they were developing,
01:10was able to kind of tinker with his pitches a bit.
01:13His fastball got a lot more ride.
01:15He kind of leaned more into that change-up, getting more separation between this fastball.
01:21And kind of overall, his arsenal rounded out and made him look like a MLB, maybe mid-rotation caliber pitcher.
01:30As you mentioned, injuries have been kind of the kind of knock against him throughout his career.
01:36Didn't pitch too many innings last year.
01:38I was only 38 and a third.
01:40Again, mix of lat injuries, elbow injuries.
01:44I think there was a comebacker that hit him off the head.
01:46Like, again, some freak accidents as well.
01:49But again, with Ryan Weathers, I think the Yankees, I'm not sure how they're going to use him.
01:55It sounds like he might be more, at least early in the season, in the rotation,
01:59once they're waiting for both Rodon and Garrett Cole to make the return.
02:03But he can definitely slot in as kind of a long relief arm.
02:07Or again, if they need kind of that bullpen day, they've got to eat up some innings.
02:12I really, really like kind of his mix there.
02:15Again, throwing that hard from the left side.
02:17We've seen other pitchers this offseason, relievers specifically, left-handed relievers, go for a pretty hefty price.
02:25I do think what the Yankees gave up, there are some pretty exciting pieces there.
02:29But with Weathers, I think they could find, like, having a breakout star in the making here.
02:33We're going to get to a little bit later how the Yankees might use him.
02:38And you also mentioned the freak accident.
02:39It wasn't a comebacker, Thomas.
02:41It was even more freak than that.
02:43It was the catcher throwing down to second base while warming up and hit him in the head on the throw to second base.
02:49So definitely a freak accident that kept him out a little bit of time.
02:53But when the Yankees first traded for him, you tweeted out that he's a prime breakout candidate.
02:58What are you seeing from him that you think that could be the case?
03:03Yeah, kind of like building on what we saw during spring training.
03:07He was one of my kind of breakout picks for the Marlins heading into 2025.
03:12I actually had him written down.
03:14I'm working on my current breakout picks heading into the 2026 season.
03:18He was my Marlins choice.
03:20I probably will transition that into the Yankees pick now.
03:23But again, what we saw last spring carried throughout kind of the regular season, even with kind of that mix of injuries he was dealing with and that missed time.
03:33Again, 96, 97 miles per hour on his fastball with that improved ride.
03:40It just it just seems like with the fastball like that, he should be able to at least stick as a mid leverage reliever.
03:48I really, really like kind of that foundation there.
03:50And then that change up again as a lefty.
03:52It's pretty foundational to have a pitch like that.
03:56We see, again, the best lefties in the league, the best southpaw like Tariq Skubal, Chris Sanchez, Cole Raggins.
04:02They all have kind of this devastating change up that make them very, very good pitchers.
04:07Again, mixed in with, again, the rest of their arsenal.
04:10But in Weathers' case, he has a really strong fastball, a good curve, a good change up.
04:15Throws, again, three other pitches, a sweeper, a slider and a sinker.
04:19And also with Weathers, I mean, I'm throwing from the left side like this change up last year, had a 40 percent whiff rate, very similar with his sweeper.
04:28So I think it's just a nice blend of pitches he has there to tackle again, both lefties and righties.
04:34I think he can he won't be kind of stuck in being that like lefty only guy that we've seen kind of pop up here and there.
04:42That's been pretty existent throughout Major League Baseball, at least since I'm alive.
04:48But again, Weathers, I think he has, again, the velocity, again, from the left side as well.
04:53And a whole cast of the reporting picture to be that breakout candidate for the Yankees this year.
05:01You've talked about a fastball that averages right around 97 miles per hour.
05:05Talked about a change up that has around a 40 percent whiff rate.
05:08What is the pitch that you believe Yankees fans should be most excited about watching with Ryan Weathers?
05:17Yeah, I think I'm going to lean back into that fastball and that change up.
05:21I think those are the two you're going to just he's going to throw most often.
05:24Those are the two you threw again last year.
05:26It made about 70 percent of his usage.
05:28But if there's another pitch you want to see, it's that sweeper that is going to kind of be the pick she's going to use against left handed hitters.
05:37Has, again, the velocity and that glove side run that makes it just kind of dive away from them.
05:44I really, really like that pitch in tandem with that sinker.
05:48So I think he's going to be a real pain for left handed hitters.
05:52And then he kind of get that high 90s heat from the left side and the change up.
05:58That's going to be his weapon to dice up right handed hitters.
06:01Again, if he had a lot more time last year, if he wasn't, if he was on the mound, I think he could have definitely made a name for himself in Miami.
06:09But I think Yankees fans should be really excited to see how he does.
06:13And it sounds like he'll be healthy for for spring training.
06:17And again, we have a lot of data we're going to get from that.
06:19And I hope he kind of knocks out of the park there.
06:22I want to end with how we think the Yankees are going to use Ryan Weathers.
06:28He's probably going to start in the rotation, but we know that Garrett Cole is going to end up joining the Yankees sometime by May, June.
06:35Carlos Rodon, probably around the same time.
06:37How do you think Ryan Weathers would profile as a reliever if eventually he does have to move out of the rotation and into the bullpen?
06:46Do you think he could be a good guy against lefties?
06:49Do you think he can get lefties and righties out consistently out of the bullpen?
06:52Do you think this stuff would take up a little bit coming out of the bullpen?
06:55How do you think he would work as a reliever?
06:59Yeah, so like over the past few seasons, again, his velocity has kind of ramped up in more of a starting role.
07:05Like with the Padres, he was kind of somewhat times in the bullpen, like more of a hybrid role.
07:12Again, definitely eight more innings than it wasn't like one inning spurts there.
07:16But again, as we saw last season, his velocity ticked up, his stuff ticked up more right on that fastball.
07:21The changeup just looked so much better.
07:23If he moves into a bullpen role full time, say either because there's just no room in the Yankees rotation or injuries, there's more injury concern with him.
07:33I can definitely see that fastball going even higher, maybe even approaching, sitting closer to 99, eclipsing 100 miles per hour.
07:40Again, we see pictures like Adrian Morian, Aroldis Chapman, I guess.
07:46The Yankees fans are very familiar with him.
07:49Again, that velocity from the left side is just so pivotal and very hard to come by.
07:57So Yankees fans should be very excited, even if whether in a starting role or in a relief role,
08:02I think he can definitely just jump in, be that long arm, especially if there's need to bullpen day or just some rest.
08:11And he has the arsenal too, again, face both lefties and righties.
08:15I think that changeup is going to be kind of that piece, the key piece for him.
08:19That'll kind of dictate if he's going to break out.
08:23But with a fastball like that, it's really hard to see him kind of not at least carving out a major league role
08:28and maybe an important role for the Yankees this year.
08:31Thomas, thank you for helping us get to know Ryan Weathers.
08:35He might not be the big-name pitcher Yankees fans wanted
08:37or even the big-name Miami Marlins pitcher Yankees fans wanted,
08:41but as you've told us, he's still someone that Yankees fans should be excited about getting this season.
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