NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees shuffled their bullpen after losing consecutive series to AL East rivals Boston and Baltimore, bringing up right-handers Phil Bickford and Yoendrys Gómez, cutting left-hander Victor González and demoting right-hander Ron Marinaccio.
New York used its bullpen for 7 2/3 innings in Thursday's 17-5 loss to the Orioles and for six innings in Wednesday's 7-6 defeat. The Yankees' pitching staff entered Friday's series opener against Atlanta with a 4.59 ERA in June, up from a major league-best 2.37 in May.
“A big thing was the numbers game. Just, obviously, we’re leaning on the ‘pen heavily the last two days, so needed some coverage down there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “And talk about certain things to shake up and pay attention.”
Second baseman Gleyber Torres was out of the starting lineup after leaving Thursday's game because of right groin tightness. Boone said an MRI was negative and Torres likely will be available over the weekend.
New York acquired González from the Los Angeles Dodgers in December along with second base prospect Jorbit Vivas for shortstop Trey Sweeney, the 20th overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft. González, 28, had a 3.68 ERA in 27 relief appearances, allowing 13 hits in 23 1/3 innings while walking 13 and striking out 11.
He was designated for assignment by the Yankees after giving up five runs — four earned — three hits and two walks over his last three outings.
“That was tough because I’ve really enjoyed Vic. I respect him. He’s had some success in the league," Boone said. “Hard getting him into a good role here, but definitely had some struggles with the strike throwing and not putting guys away a little bit and just felt like this was something over the long haul that we’re probably going to have to address.”
Marinaccio, 28, was brought up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on April 13, sent down May 10 and recalled June 9. He allowed five runs — four earned — seven hits and four walks over 6 1/3 innings in four outings during his latest big league stint.
Boone said Marinaccio took the demotion “like a pro but he’s not thrilled about it, obviously.”
Bickford, 28, was released by the New York Mets in the final week of spring training and was given $217,742 in termination pay rather than the $900,000 salary he won as part of a non-guaranteed contract in salary arbitration. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees and went 2-2 with a 2.94 ERA in 22 relief appearances for Scranton, striking out 35 and walking 12 in 27 2/3 innings.
His deal with the Yankees calls for a $1.1 million salary in the major leagues and $180,000 with the minors.
“Tough right on right guy," Boone said. “He'll give you some length.”
Gómez, 24, was 2-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 12 starts for the RailRiders, striking out 54 and walking 26 in 46 innings, He made his big league debut last September and appeared in one major league game this season, striking out the side in the ninth inning of an 8-0 win at San Diego on May 24.
“The couple opportunities he has gotten up here, he’s done a nice job,.” Boone said. “He’s got a lot of talent. He’s still very raw and has had some injuries in his young career.”
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