The New York Yankees have released 30-year-old right-handed relief pitcher Duane Underwood Jr., who can now sign with any team. Now a free agent, he had been pitching for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Underwood signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees in the offseason.
The Yankees have made the following roster moves affecting SWB:
• RHP Duane Underwood, Jr. released from Minor League Contract by NY Yankees on 8/5
• OF Oscar Gonzalez placed on the 7-Day injured List, retroactive to 8/5
• INF Caleb Durbin promoted from Somerset— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) August 6, 2024
Minor League Pitcher Duane Underwood Jr. Released By Yankees
Underwood Jr. has played for the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Puerto Rico national baseball team. His release comes as a surprise, as he was putting up decent numbers in Triple-A. He had a 3.26 ERA and a strikeout rate of 23.4% across 38 2/3 innings of work. Underwood never got the opportunity to play in the majors with the Yankees this season, mostly because of his walk rate, which was 14%. He has a 5-10 record with a 4.63 ERA in his MLB career.
Can you believe that’s how it ends?! 🤯
Duane Underwood Jr. catches a 100.3 MPH liner back to the mound from No. 5 @Mets prospect Luisangel Acuña to close a 10-inning ballgame. pic.twitter.com/D9CesS2mF2
— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) July 10, 2024
His time in the majors with both the Pirates and Cubs had both ups and downs. His best ERA (2.25) was in 2018 but through a very small sample size across four innings pitched. But this season in the minors, he has had some memorable moments. On July 9th, Underwood Jr. made an impressive catch on a 100.3 mph line drive from New York Mets prospect Luisangel Acuña. The play was made effortlessly, which ended a 10-inning game. Back on June 4th, Underwood Jr. came on in relief and pitched a 1-2-3 inning and recorded a pair of strikeouts, and the RailRiders ended up winning that game 4-2 against Norfolk.
In addition to the Yankees releasing Underwood, they also placed outfielder Oscar Gonzalez on the IL and have promoted infielder Caleb Durbin from Double-A Somerset to the Triple-A RailRiders. This will be a big plus for them as they use him at multiple infield positions. Durbin sports a .277 batting average this season across three levels (A, AA, AAA). His offensive spark can be utilized in Triple-A.
Photo Credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
