TAMPA — The Yankees swung a deal with a division foe on Monday to bolster their pitching depth.
As they worked on making final tweaks to their roster ahead of Thursday’s Opening Day, the Yankees acquired right-handed reliever David McKay from the Rays for cash considerations, the team announced.
McKay had been in the Rays’ camp on a minor league deal, but reportedly had a clause in his contract that allowed him to be moved to another team that was willing to put him on its 40-man roster if the Rays did not. The Yankees had to make a move to open a spot for him on their 40-man roster, but they did not immediately announce one.
The 27-year-old McKay owns a 6.08 ERA across 26 major league games, split between the Mariners and Tigers. He did not pitch at all last season after undergoing hip surgery last April, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
It was not immediately clear whether McKay would join the Yankees’ bullpen or go to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, though the latter remains possible as he does have one option remaining. In three Grapefruit League games this spring, McKay gave up three earned runs across 3 ²/₃ innings while striking out three and walking one.
Earlier on Monday, manager Aaron Boone had said the Opening Day roster was almost finalized, but left the door open for potential trades.
“A lot can go on,” Boone said. “There’s logistics of roster spots and things like that. … There’s some things that could still play out.”
