TAMPA – The Yankees knew when they obtained Clayton Beeter from the Dodgers for Joey Gallo at the 2022 trade deadline that his stuff ultimately might translate best as a reliever, not a starter.
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At the outset of spring training 2025, they have decided that Beeter is, indeed, a reliever.
“As we got through last year, his fastball/slider mix is super powerful and is best suited for relief,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake told The Post.
“We decided to lean into the swing and miss of the fastball at the top of the zone and the slider at the bottom. We thought it might even play up in short bursts.”
In spring training last year, he was initially seen with Luis Gil and Will Warren as the main depth if something befell a major league starter. Gil ultimately got the nod when Gerrit Cole went down in March with an elbow injury.
Beeter did break camp with the Yankees and appeared in one game as a reliever before being optioned back to Triple-A where he started.
But he missed four months from mid-May until mid-September with a shoulder ailment. He returned and pitched in two more games out of the pen for the Yankees late in the season.
The 26-year-old righty has two minor league options remaining so, without a few relief injuries, is likely to begin the season in the Triple-A bullpen.