Blackburn landed with the Yankees after being released by the Mets in August. He made eight appearances for the club and recorded a 5.28 ERA with more than one strikeout per inning. Blackburn had been a starter for most of his career, but worked exclusively as a reliever with the Yankees. The now 32-year-old had a miserable debut with the team, allowing seven earned runs in 3 1/3 innings to start his time in the Bronx. He rebounded from there, holding opponents to just two earned runs over his next 12 innings.
Blackburn spent the first seven years of his big league career in athletics. He achieved modest results as a depth piece behind the rotation, with well-above-average performances. The Mets picked up Blackburn in a small trade near the 2024 deadline. He struggled through five starts with the team to finish that season. Blackburn battled back and knee injuries ahead of the 2025 campaign. He did not feature until June and then missed a further six weeks with a shoulder problem. Blackburn threw five scoreless innings in his first appearance of the season. He then gave up at least three runs in each of the next five outings.
While Blackburn was exclusively a reliever for the Yankees, the contract incentives suggest there may be room for a rotation spot. He will get $100,000 if he reaches 80 innings, and another $100,000 for every 10-inning milestone he reaches over 120 innings. New York has had a relatively gentle rotation Max Fried And Cam Schlittler. Luis Gil, Will WarrenAnd Ryan Yarbrough will likely fill out the rest of the staff. Carlos Rodon, Gerrit KoolAnd Clarke Schmidt are currently recovering.
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