The Yankees released right-hander Duane Underwood Jr., who’d been pitching for their Triple-A affiliate after signing a minor league deal in the offseason, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’s a free agent who can now sign with any club.
Underwood’s release comes despite generally solid results in Scranton. He’s pitched 38 2/3 innings for the RailRiders, logging a 3.26 ERA with a 23.4% strikeout rate that’s slightly north of the big league average. The Yankees never game him a look in the big leagues this season, likely due in part to an unpalatable 14% walk rate that portends some regression in that otherwise sharp earned run average.
A second-round pick by the Cubs back in 2012, the now 30-year-old Underwood has three-plus years of big league service that have been accrued over parts of six seasons split evenly between the Cubs and Pirates. Underwood found some decent success with Pittsburgh from 2021-22 and even worked his way into a leverage role with the ’22 Bucs. Over those two seasons, he tallied 130 innings of 4.36 ERA ball with a 21.1% strikeout rate, 9% walk rate, 45.7% ground-ball rate, one save and a dozen holds. He was arguably miscast as a setup man, but Underwood looked the part of a perfectly serviceable middle reliever at the very least.
The 2023 season marked a notable step back for the right-hander, however. Underwood pitched just 24 1/3 frames in the big leagues and was roughed up for a 5.18 ERA with glaring declines in his strikeout and walk rates. His average sinker fell from 95.3 mph in ’22 to 93.6 mph in ’23, and Underwood posted a career-low 14% strikeout rate against a career-worst 11% walk rate. Pittsburgh passed him through waivers last June. He became a minor league free agent at season’s end and signed with the Yankees.
On the whole, Underwood has 190 2/3 innings of 4.63 ERA ball under his belt in the majors. He’s set down 21.5% of his opponents on strikes and issued free passes at a 9% clip — both numbers right in line with the results he delivered for the 2021-22 Pirates. He’s worked mostly in short relief with the Yankees organization, although Underwood does have eight appearances in which he’s recorded between four and six outs over the past couple months. He could be an option for a team seeking some depth in the form of an experienced arm that’s comfortable working more than an inning per appearance.
He looks so different without the facial hair. It’s a shame what the Yankees force grown men to do.
They don’t ‘make’ them do anything. If you want to play for the Yankees you know what to expect.
It’s a shame how everyone whines about the Yankees grooming policies. Go get a job at a bank or a lawfirm and see if you have to wear a suit to work. If players want to be free to have beards there’s plenty of other teams.
Muted for your counterculture admiration as well as being a hippie.
“He looks so different..it’s a shame”…You must have been born with a silver spoon in your mouth to equate shaving, which millions of people do for free each day before work, with earning a living and feeding your family. It must be nice to be so well off, that you can afford to be so out of touch with reality and average working people.
Do you want your doctor to look like a Mountain Man? Would you like to office next to a homeless looking man fresh from a West Virginia fued? I don’t see anything wrong with adhering to a ‘code’.
Why would I care what my doctor looked like, if he’s educated in medicine, has earned his degree, his required residency and has current knowledge of medical treatments, he could look like a homeless person and it wouldn’t matter
Apparently you have something against educated people and those beneath the rock you live under
Was it the West Virginia feud reference that upset you? Remember to start brushing you teeth too
It’s a shame that you’re here whining about what grown man voluntarily do for a very good salary.
In many cases making a player shave is doing them a favor.
okay Mom, thanks for the grooming advice, I will take it under consideration that making a player shave his face is doing him a favor
Do you often make poor recommendations to people that you don’t know?
“Making a player shave”…Under U.S law, nobody is forced to work for any employer(including the Yankees)so nobody is “made” to shave. But, if you WANT to work for a specific employer(Yankees)then you must follow their dress code and policies. If you work at McDonald’s, you either wear their uniform and follow their dress code or you must find somewhere else to work. It’s really that simple.
Surely new professional players entering the sport get to pick what team they “WANT” to play for then, right?
@Squeeze32 If they’re that adamant about not shaving after being drafted, they can refuse to sign any minor league contract and forgo any signing bonuses. The choice remains.
wearing a uniform isn’t the same as forcing someone to keep a clean shaven face
you couldn’t come up with a better comparison?
It it so hard to understand a contractually-enforced grooming policy?
Project 2025 will make every American male grow a fu manchu and orange combover hair cuts and orange mascara for the face
I’m just amused by “TheMan 3” getting super emotional over men’s grooming in the replies on this article.
Releasing him is doing Duane a favor to catch on with another team
Agreed. They probably set him free to sign somewhere for more money or an actual role. Downs was cut loose the other day and headed East for some actual money.
Dudes with this kind of track record are going to end up being setup men when they stupidly add more teams to a league that already can’t fill out bullpens with quality talent.
The overall quality is usually about the same. 50 years ago, or 50 years from now, there will always be a #9 BP option looking for a job. Looked at the 1973 RS at semi-random, and they had 3 good guys, one mediocre, and three weak. 50 years from now, it will look similar.
Having a beard does not equate to being “a hippy, dirtbag, a deadbeat, incompetent fool, uneducated trash” it’s nothing to do with your character.
Society has to let the shave thing go. It doesn’t matter unless you work in the medical field or food prep industry it doesn’t matter.
If you are able to grow one, enjoy.
If you don’t want one don’t .
What is the negative impact of a player with a beard? Nothing.
What is the negative impact of gambling? Looking at you MLB
Sterlingadingadong;
This sounds to me like the “Science Is Real” cry from people that know nothing about science, but believe what media members (that also know nothing about science) pass onto the public via reinforced narratives. Fortunately, much of the public that was buying that stuff is watching their standard of living go down, meanwhile nothing is getting better. They’re reevaluating people that make claims that sound good, but have no basis in fact.
This has nothing to do with baseball, but I think you need to speak with medical people and food prep people. Not the minimum wage workers – the ones that make the policies, have degrees, and understand science, biology, hygiene and how all that affects consumers of medical and food services.
Can you SMELLLLLL, what THE ROCK, is cookin’?!?!