Entering camp as a non-roster invitee who hasn’t spent a day on a major league roster since 2015, nearly 34-year-old Lucas Luetge had a small chance to make the Yankees’ 40-man, let alone earn any regular season innings for the club. Though aptly named for the role, MLB’s recent addition of a three-out minimum for any reliever undermined Luetge’s value as a LOOGY, making his path back to the majors even less likely.
However, through five spring appearances with the Yankees, Lucas Luetge is on pace to turn some heads. While of course, many a fool have been made of overreactions to a couple of spring training outings, it’s very, very hard to strike out 11 of 18 batters faced on accident.