Yankees Cut Bait on Andrew Brackman

As you may have heard, the New York Yankees declined the option on Andrew Brackman today, making the 25-year-old right-hander a free agent.


Brackman was drafted in the first round in 2007 out of North Carolina State, signed to a major league contract worth $4.55 million guaranteed with the potential to net him up to $13 million. He had to have Tommy John surgery right after signing but the Yankees felt it was worth the gamble given his upside. Instead of succeeding as the Yankees hoped, Brackman suffered from severe control problems.

He pitched well at times in 2010, but otherwise he was ineffective in the minors and sometimes downright awful, particularly this year in Triple-A where he posted a 6.00 ERA with a 75/75 K/BB in 96 innings. He got a brief trial with the Yankees this season but didn't do enough to hold their interest at his current price.

Brackman hits 95 MPH on his best days but usually works at 90-93. His curveball has a lot of potential, but he's struggled with consistency of his slider and changeup, and his command is about as reliable as Lindsay Lohan's sense of propriety.

Question: if you were a major league team, would you be interested in signing Brackman, and if so, what would you do with him? Personally I would consider giving him a minor league contract and sending him to Double-A to see what happens, but I wouldn't give him anything beyond a minimum wage contract.