After serving 7+ seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, LHP Tim Mayza was signed earlier Wednesday morning to a minor league deal with the New York Yankees, according to Scott Mitchell (@ScottyMitchTSN). After clearing waivers on July 6th, Mayza entered the free agency pool and was assumed to generate some interest, specifically after a solid 2023 season where the lefty registered a 1.52 ERA in 69 games along with a 58.2% GroundBall%. The southpaw also saw a career-best in HR/9 at 0.34.
Tim Mayza’s Journey
Tim Mayza was the 355th pick (12th round) of the 2013 draft, selected by the Toronto Blue Jays. Mayza started his big league career on August 15th, 2017, where he hurled a clean ninth inning in the Blue Jays 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. In the same game, the then-rookie tallied his first MLB strikeout, via Rays UTIL Peter Bourjos going down swinging. Fast forward to September 12th of his rookie season, the lefty tallied his first MLB win against the Baltimore Orioles. Mayza hurled another clean ninth inning with 2 K’s, to which Toronto walked off the Orioles in the next half inning through a Richard Urena RBI single. Mayza ended his rookie year with a 6.88 ERA and a promising 2.98 FIP in 17 innings.
Throughout the following years, Mayza became an integral part of the Blue Jays bullpen, specifically against left-handed batters. Aside from 2019, lefties had a sub-.600 OPS against Mayza up until 2024. While his overall K% decreased significantly from 2017 throughout these seasons, the GB% rose to nearly 60%, making up for that regression.
This takes us to 2024, where Tim Mayza had a less-than-ideal campaign for the Blue Jays. The southpaw had an ERA of 8.03 and a career-low 39.1% GroundBall%. His struggles specifically stem from a lack of sinker velocity and a lack of vertical movement with the slider. As a two-pitch pitcher, both the sinker and the slider had to be quality pitches to keep hitters guessing at the plate. However, with the sinker decreasing by nearly 2 MPH (93.4 MPH to 91.9 MPH) and the slider’s vertical movement decreasing by 1.2” (3” to 1.8”) from 2023, it was clear that he didn’t have it. With Genesis Cabrera providing more on the results side of things and Brendon Little providing quality innings (with a 70.6 GroundBall%!), Mayza was the odd one out in the Blue Jays group of lefties in the bullpen.
What do the Yankees Get in Tim Mayza?
The New York Yankees are notorious for finding talent through low-level waiver claims and free agency signings. RPs Michael Tonkin (1.60 ERA with Yankees in 33.2 IP), Luke Weaver (2.68 ERA with Yankees in 2024), and Tim Hill (2.61 ERA with Yankees in 10.1 IP) are the most recent examples of this concept. If Tim Mayza can join this group of solid waiver claims, New York would have another solid LHP to make up for the struggles of LHP Caleb Ferguson, who has a 4.14 FIP and 5.46 ERA in 35 games.
Coming Back Soon?
Overall, Tim Mayza provided the Blue Jays with quality innings for 8 seasons from the left-handed side. Now, he’ll look to find his way from the minors to the big leagues with the New York Yankees. Because he’s playing for a division rival, perhaps Blue Jays fans will be able to see Mayza soon, only this time, in the pinstripes.