Yankees trade four prospects to Marlins for Ryan Weathers to address major pitching problem

The Yankees have signed the son of a former Yankee, but not yet Cody Bellinger.

The club is acquiring left-hander Ryan Weathers from the Marlins in exchange for four players: outfielders Dillon Lewis and Brendan Jones and infielders Dylan Jasso and Juan Matheus, the Yankees announced Tuesday evening.

The 26-year-old Weathers, the son of former Yankee David Weathers, bolsters the Yankees’ starting depth and also gives them flexibility, with some bullpen experience and one minor league option remaining. That’s important considering the Yankees will start the season with Carlos Rodón, Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt on the injured list, but will likely have to clear space for them in the rotation at some point.

Weathers made 24 starts for the Marlins over the past two seasons, posting a 3.74 ERA with 117 strikeouts in 125 innings. In between, he suffered a forearm strain, a lat strain and a finger strain that forced him to miss time on the injured list. But when healthy, he flashed a big fastball last season that averaged 90.8 mph.

The Yankees had tried to acquire another Marlins starter, Edward Cabrera, before he was traded to the Cubs and also had interest in Freddy Peralta of the Brewers and Mackenzie Gore of the Nationals. But they ended up with Weathers, who had a lower prospect cost than the others while still offering some upside and three years of team control.

Weathers, who will make $1.35 million this year, will have a chance to break camp in the rotation alongside Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil and Will Warren, with swingman Ryan Yarbrough also in the mix if needed.

Lewis was the highest-rated prospect — ranked eighth in the system according to Baseball America — the Yankees had to give up on the deal, a 13th-round pick in 2024 that increased his stock with a strong 2025. Jones was a 12th-round pick in 2024, while Jasso signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and Matheus was an international signing.

Weathers’ father, David, was a reliever on the Yankees’ 1996 World Series championship team.

The more famous son of a Yankee is Bellinger, who the Yankees are still trying to re-sign despite a current gap in contract length between the two sides. But in the meantime, the Yankees checked off another need by adding starting depth about a month before pitchers and catchers report for spring training.