The most random 2021 Yankees

With the 2021 regular season wrapping up today, we almost certainly have the full list of everyone who will have played for this year’s Yankees. Unless something weird happens in the hours between this post going up and game time, there will almost certainly be no 2021 Yankees’ debuts.

With that in mind, let’s try and help your future Sporcle quiz taking and look back at the most random players to suit for the Yankees this season.

5. Hoy Park

Right around the All-Star break, the Yankees went through a pretty difficult COVID outbreak. Numerous players ended up having to miss time. As a result, they had to do mass call ups, and one of the players called on was Hoy Park. In Triple-A, Park was in the midst of a great season, leading to some fans wanting the Yankees to call him up in general. They eventually got their wish, and Park’s 2021 as a Yankee went like this: he got one at-bat. He came in as a pinch-hitter in the July 16th game and grounded out to end the seventh inning. Ten days later, he was included in a trade to the Pirates for Clay Holmes, a move that was decried by some at the time. As it turned out, Holmes has turned into an invaluable bullpen piece in New York and Park has a 75 OPS+ in Pittsburgh.

4. Tim Locastro

Locastro was once an offseason-only Yankee, having been traded too and from the team in the 2018-19 offseason. The Yankees had traded him to the Diamondbacks prior to 2019, where he had remained and been a bench option for three seasons. In July, with the Yankees dealing one of their several injury messes, the Yankees got him back from Arizona. He had a fun moment or two, showed off his speed, which is his best asset, but then tore his ACL while making a leaping catch against the wall and has been out ever since. He’s still technically in the organization, and the Yankees had acquired him before, so who knows, maybe we haven’t seen the last of Locastro in pinstripes.

3. Asher Wojciechowski

With the Yankees in the midst of their aforementioned COVID outbreak, mixed in with some regular old injuries, they needed an arm. For their July 21st game against the Phillies, they brought up Wojciechowski from Triple-A, where he had spent the first part of the year after signing a minor league deal with the Yankees in the offseason. With the haircut he sports, the behind the mound view that broadcasts use during game action made him look like an alternate dimension Gerrit Cole. His results weren’t disastrous, but they weren’t Cole-like either. He allowed two runs in four innings, was DFA’ed after the game, rejected an assignment to the minors and signed as a MiLB free agent with the Mariners, where he remains.

2. Brody Koerner

Three Yankees’ pitcher made their MLB debuts on August 3rd. The first was Luis Gil, who threw six scoreless innings, beginning a scoreless streak that lasted a couple more starts. The second was Stephen Ridings, who impressed with his stuff, striking out three in his one inning. The third was Koerner, who didn’t quite grab the headlines, allowing one run in two innings. He didn’t appear again until August 20th, but had been part of the major league roster the whole time in between. Despite all the issues the bullpen has gone through at times, Koerner straight up didn’t pitch for over two weeks. Maybe the team forgot about him too.

1. Jay Bruce

Did you remember that Bruce played for the Yankees at all? Did you remember that it happened this year? Bruce was the Yankees’ Opening Day first baseman in a time well before the Anthony Rizzo trade and with Luke Voit starting the season on the IL. That was especially notable because had spent the vast majority of his MLB career playing in the outfield. He played in 10 of the Yankees’ first 12 games, went 4-34, and retired.

Honorable mention to Greg Allen, Trey Amburgey, Rob Brantly, non-Korn singer Jonathan Davis, Chris Gittins, Ryan LaMarre, Stephen Ridings, and Sal Romano. Hell, maybe even Anthony Rizzo. If the Yankees don’t bring him back that may seem like a weird figment of our imaginations in a couple years.