The Yankees have a bullpen to remake this offseason, but they made two moves official Wednesday to bring one reliever back and let go of another that had been a staple when healthy (which was not often enough).
The team picked up its $3 million club option on lefty Tim Hill and declined its $5 million option on Jonathan Loáisiga, the Yankees announced.
Hill, the side-arming ground-ball machine, pitched to a 3.09 ERA across a team-high 70 appearances and 67 innings this season.
The 35-year-old recorded the second-highest ground ball rate among 147 qualified relievers at 64.8 percent, trailing only Phillies closer Jhoan Duran (65.0).
Loáisiga, meanwhile, had been with the Yankees organization since 2016, posting a 3.54 ERA across 193 appearances since making his big league debut in 2018.
But he was plagued by a series of injuries that included his shoulder and elbow, keeping him from being able to get through many seasons without having to go on the IL.
The 31-year-old became a free agent last offseason but re-signed with the Yankees while rehabbing elbow surgery.
He made his season debut in May but by August went on the IL with a back issue and while rehabbing that, got shut down for the year with another elbow injury.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
