The Yankees and right-hander are in agreement on a minor league deal, as noted in the transactions tracker on Hartliebs . The deal presumably includes an invite to big league Spring Training next year. Hartlieb, 31 in December, got his start in pro ball as a 29th-round pick by the Pirates in the 2016 draft. The righty made a fairly speedy ascent up the minor league ladder in order to debut with the Pirates during the 2019 season. The then-25-year-old Hartlieb struggled badly in his first taste of big league action as he surrendered a 9.00 ERA in 35 innings of work during his rookie year, thanks primarily to a 10.5% walk rate and a whopping eight home runs surrendered during that time. Things seemed to Luis Castillo Jersey turn around for the right-hander during the shortened 2020 campaign as he settled in at the big league level and posted a solid 3.63 ERA in 22 1/3 innings of work, but a look under the hood revealed that Hartlieb walked as many hitters (19) as he struck out that year. In the years since then, Hartlieb hasnt gotten very much playing time at the big league level. Hes appeared in the majors during the 2021, 23, and 24 seasons but has combined for a total of just 22 innings during that time, posting an 8.59 ERA with a 17.3% strikeout rate against a 16.4% walk rate acro s stints with the Pirates, Mets, Marlins, and Rockies. Colorado was his most recent stop, and he surrendered ten runs (nine earned) while striking out seven and walking four in nine innings of work for the club this year before being outrighted off the clubs roster back in June. Despite his lackluster results in the majors, the right-hander has looked solid enough at Triple-A throughout his career with a 4.30 ERA and a 24.8% strikeout rate acro s 226 career innings at the level. His control leaves something to be desired even at that level, however, as hes surrendered free pa ses to 10% of his Triple-A opponents over the years. For a Yankees club thats currently playing in the World Series, the addition of Hartlieb is far from an obvious needle-mover. With that being said, however, the clubs bullpen has generated generally impre sive results by utilizing players like , , and who hadnt been able to find consistent succe s at the big league level prior to joining the club. Given the clubs solid track record of turning the castoffs of other organizations into quality big league contributors in recent years, its easy to see why the Yankees might think they could turn Hartlieb and his 97.3 mph heater into a legitimate big league weapon. Unearthing another hidden gem for the bullpen this winter could be extremely helpful for the club given the impending free agencies of Hill, , and . Each of those arms have been a major part of the clubs succe s this year, with Holmes in particular serving as the clubs closer in the early part of the season before being replaced in the role by Weaver down the stretch. Trent Thornton Jersey