Yankees fired up about flame-throwing bullpen find

TAMPA — Standing at his locker on Thursday afternoon — shortly after throwing his fourth scoreless inning of the spring — reliever Jimmy Cordero was given a chance to introduce himself to Yankees fans.

“I am an exciting pitcher because all my stuff is really good,” Cordero told an inquiring beat reporter. “It’s hard, it’s something that people are really going to like.”

And what about those fans?

“Yankees fans, it’s a big community,” Cordero said. “It’s something like I’ve never seen before. I hope they like how I’m going to be this season.”

Cordero was bound to be a piece in the Yankees’ bullpen at some point in 2023. The Dominican right-hander is on the 40-man roster, he has a minor-league option and he has had success at the big-league level in the past.

Now, with two Yankees relievers injured to start the season, Cordero looks like he’s destined to be in pinstripes on Opening Day.

“I really like him,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Thursday’s 11-7 loss to the Red Sox. “Power arm, been commanding the ball how he wants. Think he’s got a chance to get both sides out. I feel like he’s going to be a key piece for us.”

This isn’t just a case of Cordero earning more of an opportunity with the way he’s pitched in Grapefruit League play. The Yankees need him.

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Right-handers Lou Trivino (elbow ligament sprain) and Tommy Kahnle (bicep tendinitis) will begin the year on the injured list. While Kahnle is expected back at some point April, Trivino’s injury could keep him out into May, if not longer.

Since Carlos Rodón is also hurt, shut down with a forearm strain, all signs point toward both Clarke Schmidt and Domingo Germán pitching in the starting rotation. That means there are three spots to fill in the bullpen, with other arms like Albert Abreu, Greg Weissert, Deivi García and Matt Krook all jockeying for position. Cordero has been the best of the bunch so far this spring.

Cordero, 31, understands that the odds of him making the big-league roster increased with those two veterans getting hurt. He doesn’t want to see anybody injured, though. He wants to make this club by his own merit.

“I don’t want to take it like this,” Cordero said. “Nobody wants to see somebody get hurt. They are my teammates, I want everybody to be ready for competition, you know? I don’t feel really good about it. They’re gonna be good and come back very soon.”

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Cordero hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the pandemic-shortened season in 2020. He underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2021 and was picked up by the Yankees that following offseason. Cordero worked his way back in 2022 and pitched extremely well over 32 games in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (2.09 ERA, 50 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings pitched). He was added to the 40-man roster by the Yankees last November, a sign that this club was looking to use him in the big leagues moving forward.

His glove-popping velocity has now completely returned and if Cordero can continue to flash back to his 2019 form, it’ll be hard to keep him off the 26-man roster. That season, Cordero had a 2.75 ERA over 30 appearances with the White Sox.

“I’ve been working hard and everything is showing up right now,” he said. “Everything’s going well for sure.”