Yankees Tab Long Island Prospect for West Coast Road Trip
The Yankees have suffered from compounding injuries as of late, and in response, they have called up AAA closer and Long Island native Greg Weissert.
In 40 games in AAA Scranton this season, Weissert posted a 1.76 ERA, 2-1 record, converted 18 saves, and struck out 67 in 46 innings pitched.
Weissert graduated from Bay Shore High School in 2013 and went on to attend Fordham University. From there, the local standout was drafted in the 18th round by the Yankees in 2016.
Steadily working his way up the minor league system, the 27-year-old Weissert finally saw his dream realized when the Yankees brought him up to the major league roster on August 25.
His first outing was anything but ideal. The first pitch he threw on Thursday, August 25 hit a batter. He then balked the runner to second. On the second pitch he threw, he hit another batter. He would eventually record a fly out, but walked the next batter on four pitches. Weissert then fired a ball to the backstop, allowing a run to score. He walked one more batter before being taken out of the game.
Weissert was able to bounce back, however. In his third major league appearance, he earned his first major league victory. After Yankee starter Jameson Taillon was forced to leave due to injury, Weissert was called upon in the third inning.
Weissert came into a tight 4-2 game and got the first 3 Los Angeles Angels batters he faced out, including a fly out from Mike Trout. In his second inning of work, Weissert struck out MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani on a nasty changeup en route to another 3-up, 3-down inning.
Weissert has certainly seemed to settle in as of late and will look to be a big part of helping the Yankees win their first American League East division title since 2019.
