Yankees sign Danny Farquhar to minor-league contract

The Yankees have made a low-profile depth signing, inking right-handed relief pitcher Danny Farquhar to a minor-league contract, Jon Heyman of Fancred reports. This is great news personally for Farquhar, who is apparently fully recovered from a life-threatening brain hemorrhage he suffered last season with the White Sox.

Farquhar pitched just eight innings last season, yielding five runs and striking out nine. He was more effective previously, running a 3.81 ERA, good for a 102 ERA+, from 2013 to 2017. Farquhar showed an ability to miss bats over that span as well, striking out over 10 batters per nine innings, compared to a 3.6 BB/9 rate.

This would actually be Farquhar’s second stint with the Yankees organization. The team claimed him off of waivers from the Athletics in June of 2012 and sent him to Double-A Trenton, where he fired 11 shutout innings in six appearances. He received a brief promotion to Triple-A only to be traded to the Mariners as part of the package for Ichiro Suzuki.

The move will presumably give the Yankees another veteran depth option to consider come spring time. Ultimately, the signing is most important for Farquhar. His brain hemorrhage was an awful episode, one in which he suddenly collapsed in the dugout during a game in April. That he’s recovered to the point of signing a contract is an excellent sight to see.