The Mariners are in agreement on a minor league deal with right-handed reliever Jimmy Yacabonis, per an announcement from the team’s player development department.
Yacabonis, 28, tossed 2 1/3 innings for the Mariners in 2020 before being dropped from the 40-man roster in mid-September. He’d opened the season in the Padres’ 60-man player pool but was traded to Seattle for cash in mid-August.
The 2020 season marked Yacabonis’ first big league experience outside of Baltimore. The former 13th-round pick pitched extensively out of the Orioles’ bullpen each season from 2017-19 but struggled to a 5.75 ERA through 101 2/3 frames. Yacabonis doesn’t have much of a big league track record, but he gets well above-average movement on his pitches, which has been enough to pique the interest of several clubs. He also has solid velocity and above-average spin on his four-seamer, although he scrapped that pitch entirely in favor of a sinker during his brief 2020 showing with the Mariners. He’ll likely head to Triple-A Tacoma to open the season and give the M’s some depth should a need arise.
tom brunanskys black sock
Mr Yakabonis ,Mr James Yakabonis
BigTuna
Lol man this made me crack up haha guessing I’m the only one that’ll catch this…Mista Dobalina, Mr. Bob Dobalina
baseballpun
What do you call the incentive pay included in his contract?
Jimmy’s Yacabonus.
DarkSide830
you can now leave
baseballpun
When he’s aroused, Jimmy’s Gotaboner.
Cambio
Meh, not your best work.
Cambio
Hilarious.
Marcus Graham
Seattle just loves ham n eggs
muskie73
Jimmy Yacabonis was on the mound for the Mariners in September when Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis robbed Oakland’s Ramon Laureano of a grandslam with a spectacular first-inning catch:
youtube.com/watch?v=8Og6ThQRYoo
The righthander’s 2020 ERA could have been much worse than the listed 3.86. 😉
As a side note, Yacabonis and Mariners (team) Hall of Famer Jamie Moyer played at the same college: St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
tom brunanskys black sock
The main difference being that Moyer actually pitched on the same squad as St Joseph himself.
bobtillman
Joseph was a pretty good player until his fiancée got pregnant……”The Holy WHAT did WHAT?????”
ayrbhoy
Muskie- as soon as I saw his name I immediately though of that spectacular catch on Ramon Laureano’s almost certain Grand Slam. Yacabonis looked terrible in that inning- potential or not he couldn’t find the K-zone or make the A’s hitter chase pitches. Not a good combination for a RP.
tanner829 2
Nnoooo!! Another pos pitcher- woohoo. Here’s to another 25 years of no playoffs. Thanks for nothing Dipoto!
tom brunanskys black sock
It’s a minor league pickup. Chill.
ayrbhoy
Tanner- think of this acquisition as an NFL practice squad signing. He first needs to show he’s capable of being an emergency back-up if the starter, the back-up and the 3rd string players become injured. His signing will have zero impact on the team’s success.
compassrose
Dang it now Bauer is off the table. Why did Jerry sign this guy? We could of used the couple hundred grand to very Trevor. What a stupid move.
Drip drip sarcasm
JayKay
Reminds me of Mike Wright. Both have great sliders and both have continued to use ineffective sinkers.
MikeyHammer
Kramer will be happy to hear this.
tom brunanskys black sock
Mr friend, Jimmy Yakabonis, he sells Russian hats down in battery park
CHS O'sFan
If he ever figures out how to control his stuff, he will be an effective reliever. This is probably his last chance to do so stateside.
ayrbhoy
CHS O’s fan – “If he ever figures out how to control his stuff……” says every single Pitching Coach in MLB and the Minor Leagues about thousands of RP’s every single year!!
Haha what was that famous Yogi Berra line? “Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical.” For those of you younger commenters who have never heard of (one of the greatest Catchers in history) Yogi Berra just search famous Yogi Berra quotes! There is no one like him
24TheKid
Yeah I’m sure the young people who bothered making an account on this website don’t know who Berra is.
CHS O'sFan
There isnt 1,000 relievers that have his level of movement with a 95+ mph fastball.
bobtillman
Yacabonis gets “well above average movement on his pitches”…they usually move over the left field fence….in a “well above average” way….
DrDan75
Give Jed Hoyrr a call and tell him you’ve got Jimmy. He’ll send you Willson Contreras.
baseball1010
How does this improve your ball club or your minor league system? Another reason the Mariners have never been to the World Series!
tom brunanskys black sock
Now I remember why I stopped posting here. 80% of the comments are just ignorant whining fluff like this. Substance free.
JayKay
They are so frequent that they’ve all meshed together into just filler, at least for me. And to be fair, complaining about comments complaining generally leads to a comment chain made up entirely of complaints. Best to ignore them, lest you get swallowed up in the negativity.
tanner829 2
Yet you still read and post. Cause you are one of those morons you speak of lol.
JayKay
Did I ever say anyone was a moron? If I triggered some unwanted feelings for you, then I do apologize. Though such a reaction would be a fault on your part rather then mine.
To correct your assumption, I never stated that the OP (let anyone complaining) is “wrong” or “inferior” nor are they “right” or “superior” for that matter. I was pointing out to the second poster that it would be in their best interests to ignore and move on from the OP rather then get themselves swallowed up in a chain of complaining from ALL posters involved in said chain.
If you are ever unsure about something, it is generally best to ask first and shoot later, especially if that something comes from a different person with a wholly different mind and perspective from your own.
baseball1010
You mean like the comment you just made.
JayKay
Again, I was advising someone else to move on. Even if my comment is in that category, that does not make the contents of my comments any more or less then it was before. I am aware of the hypocrisy of my words, so while I appreciate your concern, it is unnecessary.
Chester Copperpot
Oh… the irony of your post.
JayKay
@Chester As one famous quote goes “They only way to win is not to play.”
I was aware of the hypocrisy and irony of my own comment to begin with, though assuming every stranger that interacts with me would know this right off the bat would be insanity in every literal sense.
That being said, does that ‘add’ or ‘subtract’ value from anyone’s comment? Depends on who you ask, but I am in the “No” boat. Nevertheless, I digress.
DrDan75
Clubs sign guys like Yacabonis all the time for a look in spring training. Sometimes they do well and you have a useful player for basically nothing. If not, they just get released. It’s zero risk and a good opportunity for a marginal player if they can cut it.
Hawktattoo
Take that Padres!
DrDan75
Maybe they can flip Snell for him. You think DiPoto will bite?
Hawktattoo
Might have been plan all along. Dipoto might listen…lol.
slund24
Boom! Kyle Lewis told Jerry to go get that guy that helped me secure the ROY award. This signing means Dipoto is listening to his players.
CHS O'sFan
There isnt 1,000 relievers that have his level of movement with a 95+ mph fastball.