NEW YORK — Since the trade deadline, former Yankees pitchers who were dealt to other clubs have pitched extraordinarily well.
Jordan Montgomery has looked like a Cy Young candidate with the Cardinals. JP Sears has shoved with the Athletics. Even Ken Waldichuk looked great with Oakland, making his MLB debut last week.
Now, you can add another ex-Yankees pitching prospect to that list.
Hayden Wesneski, the right-hander that New York sent to the Cubs in the Scott Effross traded, was spectacular in his big-league debut on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. Coming out of the bullpen, Wesneski threw five scoreless innings against the Reds, allowing just two hits while earning the win.
Wesneski struck out eight of the 18 batters he faced.
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The newest member of the Cubs made some history in the process as well. Wesneski is now the first Cubs pitcher since at least 1901 to throw five-plus shutout innings with seven or more strikeouts in an MLB debut, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
New York knew it was making a sacrifice moving Wesneski, one of their top pitching prospects, in the Effross deal. It was an easier pill to swallow, however, considering just how much pitching depth the Yankees have in their system. They moved Sears, Waldichuk and Luis Medina in the Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino deal, trading away Beck Way, TJ Sikkema and Chandler Champlain to the Royals in the four-player swap for Andrew Benintendi.
Effross projects to have an impact out of the bullpen in pinstripes for years to come, strapped with five years of team control after this season on his current contract. The sidearm reliever made a solid first impression—posting a 3.24 ERA over eight games—before landing on the injured list with a shoulder strain.
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