The Yankees shuffled their pitching staff again on Friday, announcing they have recalled right-handers Brendan Beck and Yerry de los Santos from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ahead of Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles.
The move was not a surprise once the club’s previous-night transactions came into view.
After Thursday’s contest, New York optioned Luis Gil and Bradley Hanner to the Florida Complex League, opening two spots on the active roster for fresh arms as the schedule piled extra innings onto an already taxed bullpen.
Sending two major-league pitchers all the way to rookie ball is unusual this late in September, but it is a familiar late-season tactic.
The FCL assignment keeps both players in the organization and available if needed while protecting the 26-man roster from further wear during a compressed stretch.
Hanner had only just been recalled Thursday to cover for Clarke Schmidt, who landed on the 15-day injured list with right biceps neuritis.
He responded with two scoreless innings and his first big-league win in a 6-4 victory over Tampa Bay, yet his season ERA with the Yankees remained bloated, and the club needed bodies more than it needed another short-term look.
Gil, who had been used in a variety of roles since his late-August return from Triple-A, was likewise expendable for a 48-hour stretch that required extra pitching depth.
Beck and de los Santos give manager Aaron Boone two different kinds of insurance.
Beck has already made cameo appearances as a 27th man this year and can absorb multiple innings if a starter is chased early in either half of the twin bill.
De los Santos, optioned himself only a month ago when Gil was first recalled, returns as a familiar high-leverage option whose fastball-slider mix has been used in short bursts.
Their promotions also arrive after New York’s Saturday game against Baltimore was rescheduled into Friday’s doubleheader, turning one scheduled start into two and forcing the front office to treat the roster like a revolving door.
The broader picture is a club sitting 92-67 and second in the American League East, still chasing October while managing injuries to Schmidt and Aaron Judge.
Optioning Gil and Hanner to the FCL rather than Triple-A is a bookkeeping choice as much as a baseball one; it keeps the RailRiders’ roster cleaner and gives the Yankees maximum flexibility if either pitcher is needed again before the regular season ends.
For now, Friday’s first game will tell whether Beck and de los Santos can stabilize a staff that has been asked to cover more innings than anyone planned a week ago. The corresponding demotions of Gil and Hanner simply made the math work.
