The Yankees are bringing back another member of the 2025 team.
With fans still waiting for an outside addition outside of the Rule 5 draft and a decision from Cody Bellinger, a source confirmed to the Daily News late Saturday night that the Bombers have agreed to a one-year deal with Paul Blackburn. The agreement is still unofficial The right-hander will be guaranteed $2 million.
Blackburn can make another $100,000 each for 80, 90, 100, 110 and 120 innings.
the New York Post’s John Heyman The Blackburn Agreement was first reported.
Blackburn, 32, didn’t fare particularly well in 2025, totaling a 6.23 ERA over 39 innings for the Mets and Yankees. He suffered some injuries while at Queens, including a sore knee and a shoulder impingement, before being released in August. He then posted a 5.28 ERA over 15.1 innings after signing with the Yanks.
However, Blackburn’s numbers with the Yankees ballooned by making his club debut over seven innings, posting a 1.50 ERA over his final 12 regular season innings. That earned him a spot on the Yankees’ postseason rosters. Blackburn gave up four earned runs over 1.1 innings in Game 1 of the ALDS.
Blackburn’s small sample of low-key pre-playoff success coincided with the Yankees reshuffling their arsenal. He greatly increased the use of his sinker and cutter and specified his sweeper, among other changes, after arriving in the Bronx, and also improved his strikeout, walk, and groundball rates.
That left the Yankees seeing some upside, much like they did with Luke Weaver at the end of the 2023 season. Weaver, previously a rookie, signed a similar deal to Blackburn and reinvented himself as a solid outfielder with the Yankees. He just parlayed that into a two-year, $22 million deal with the Mets.
Like Weaver, Blackburn spent a large portion of his career before becoming a Yankee. While he’s expected to impact their bullpen first and foremost, he theoretically adds some rotation depth to a team that has a lot of starters but a lot of questions and concerns among them.
At the very least, Blackburn can provide length in a pen that still needs established, high-impact help.
A nine-year pro, the former athlete has a 4.97 ERA over 467.1 innings pitched.
Blackburn is the latest 2025 Yankee to return to the club, joining Trent Grisham, Ryan Yarbrough and Amed Rosario.