Right-hander Peter Strzelecki has opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The righty is now a free agent and can be pursued by any team.
Strzelecki, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees on May 23rd. Though that was almost a month ago, he has only made Triple-A six appearances since then, logging 4 2/3 innings. He allowed four earned runs in that tiny sample but struck out nine of the 22 batters he faced, a 40.9% rate, while only issuing one walk. He averaged around 92 miles per hour with his four-seamer and sinker, a normal range for him, while also throwing a slider and changeup.
That wasn’t enough for the Yankees to give him a roster spot, so he’ll test the open market. His major league track record consists of 83 2/3 innings with the Brewers, Diamondbacks and Guardians from 2022 to 2024. He posted a 3.44 earned run average in that time along with a 24% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 35.8% ground ball rate.
He spent 2025 in the minors with the Pirates and Rays but struggled, putting up a combined 9.41 ERA. He signed a minor league deal with the Brewers coming into 2026 and was briefly added to that club’s roster in May, though he was designated for assignment the next day without appearing in a game.
His minor league numbers this year don’t look great at first blush but things appear nicer under the hood. Between the systems of the Brewers and Yankees, he has logged 24 1/3 innings with a 4.81 ERA but his 28.2% strikeout rate, 4.9% walk rate and 45.3% ground ball rate are all strong figures. The ERA would be better if not for a .333 batting average on balls in play and 61.2% strand rate. Strzelecki will see if any other club is enticed by those numbers. If he eventually gets a roster spot somewhere, he is out of options.
Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images
