Three new Yankee experiments are already failing

TAMPA—The Yankees have never been shy about betting on upside, but with Aaron Judge’s prime ticking away, the front office’s latest low-cost, high-reward gambits are flashing red before the regular season even begins. Three winter acquisitions—left-hander Ryan Weathers, reliever Chad Chivilli and Mexican League MVP José Torres—were brought in to deepen the roster without denting the payroll. Through the first month of camp, each move is trending toward regret.

Weathers, acquired from Miami for four prospects including three of the organization’s top-30 names, arrived with a triple-digit fastball and a wipeout off-speed mix. The 25-year-old has not lacked for stuff; he has lacked health and results. Over the past five seasons he has never topped 94 2/3 innings in a year and carries a 4.93 ERA across 281 big-league frames. This spring the ledger looks worse: 16 earned runs, 23 hits, three walks and two hit batters in 12 1/3 innings. The Yankees insist there is time to “find rhythm,” but every additional flat slider shortens the leash on a pitcher they control only through 2026.

Chivilli’s profile is similar—velocity that lights up the radar gun, numbers that dim the optimism. The Rockies castoff posted a 6.18 ERA in 90 1/3 innings at Coors Field the past two seasons, inviting the standard altitude alibi. Eight Grapefruit League innings torched that excuse: 11 runs on 11 hits, two plunked batters and a strikeout rate that continues to lag (15.6 percent in 2024). Optioned to Triple-A last week, Chivilli cost New York minor-league first baseman TJ Rumfield, who is 14-for-49 with four homers and five walks this spring for Philadelphia’s system.

The third experiment never truly left the petri dish. José Torres, reigning Mexican League MVP after slashing .347/.425/.730 with 27 homers in 326 at-bats for Algodoneros de Unión Laguna, was signed as insurance against Cody Bellinger’s free-agency decision. Once Bellinger returned, Torres became a man without a position—or plate appearances. He received a late invite to camp and is 1-for-5 so far, a depth piece buried behind entrenched veterans at first base and both outfield corners.

Yankees officials continue to preach patience, noting that spring statistics are not binding and that each player offers minor-league options. Yet the urgency of a championship window fronted by Judge, Gerrit Cole and a retooled lineup makes every March misstep feel magnified. If the early returns hold, New York will have surrendered four legitimate prospects and a productive minor-league bat for 20 1/3 innings of 10-plus ERA baseball and a bat that has yet to leave the bench.

The diamond-in-the-rough philosophy worked for DJ LeMahieu and, briefly, José Caballero. Three weeks into camp, the 2025 class of rough is still waiting on its first polish.