The Yankees have their Opening Day roster finalized, and taking up the final spot is a relatively unknown who will be preparing for his first big-league action in nearly six years.
Lucas Luetge, who last pitched at the major league level in 2015, will be part of the team’s relief core to open the season after an impressive spring, Aaron Boone said on Wednesday when talking to reporters over Zoom.
“Happy to report that Lucas is on our team,” Boone said. “He came into camp and we had some expectations around him, but frankly, there was some really good competition around him, better than I feel like we had in the last several years.”
Luetge last pitched in a big-league game on April 25, 2015, tossing 2.1 shutout frames with the Mariners. He threw just nine innings in 2014, but now, having just turned 34 years old, he will have a chance to resurrect his career thanks to a spring that saw him fan 18 batters in 10.1 innings.
“There were a lot of different ways we were considering going for that spot, but you can’t deny what Lucas was able to come in from the start of camp and push his way onto the roster, earn his spot, and I’m excited to see what he can potentially go out and do for us,” Boone said.
Luetge’s fastball hovers at around 90 mph, but has been able to get back to the majors thanks to a wicked slider with a spin rate that ranked sixth in all of baseball this spring, while his fastball ranked third overall.
Luetge’s presence wasn’t the only sight of note during the Yanks’ workout on Wednesday. Outfielder Mike Tauchman was seen taking reps at first base, and with Luke Voit out with a partially torn meniscus, that could be something to watch as the season evolves, with Tauchman potentially sharing time with fellow lefty Jay Bruce.
“We’ll see,” Boone said. “He’s been taking a lot of ground balls in the back field. We were actually going to get him in the last couple days, but he fouled the ball off his shin…I was probably going to put him in those last few games.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch