The Yankees made their first acquisition of the offseason on Tuesday, claiming left-handed reliever Joe Mantiply from the Tigers. To make room for him on the roster, right-handed reliever Branden Pinder was designated for assignment.
According to Baseball America’s Josh Norris, Mantiply is a lefty specialist that features a deceptive delivery. His fastball sits in the 89-90 mph range with a slurve-type breaking ball and a changeup. Norris also notes that left-handed hitters batted .143 against Mantiply in Double-A.
Mantiply did appear in five games for the Tigers in 2016, pitching 2.2 innings with a 16.88 ERA.