Yankees cut ties with history-making pitcher who broke 1973 drought

Yankees cut ties with history-making pitcher who broke 1973 drought originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New York Yankees hadn't done this in a long time.

This season, for the first time since 1973, they had a Rule 5 Draft pick make the Opening Day roster.

He never actually pitched, though. Cade Winquest was designated for assignment on Thursday. He'll now have to be offered back to the St. Louis Cardinals, from whom he was picked in the offseason.

MORE:Aaron Judge's case as the greatest right-handed hitter of all time

The 6-foot-2 righty Winquest topped out at Double-A Springfield in the Cardinals' system last year, where he had a 3.19 ERA in eight starts on the mound.

This spring, he didn't even put up great numbers. Winquest had a 6.48 ERA in 8.1 innings, allowing 11 hits and six earned runs while striking out seven.

The Yankees hadn't even picked a player in the Rule 5 Draft since 2011. And to keep a player, they have to be on the MLB roster all season, so the Yanks didn't give up before Opening Day and kept him around.

They've warmed him up multiple times during games, as if he could come in to pitch, but he has never actually appeared in a game.

MORE:Yankees outfielder once battled ostrich in 11-plate spaghetti-eating contest

It's a bit surprising that the Yanks wouldn't even just try Winquest once in the interest of seeing how he performs.

If the Cardinals take Winquest back, he can go back down to the minor leagues. There are no guarantees about when he might return to the majors.

He'll certainly have a weird career timeline note -- making the Yankees' Opening Day roster in 2026 but never actually pitching in pinstripes.

More MLB news:

• Explaining the absurdity of 2 MLB players named Max Muncy
• He almost retired, but instead he hit his first grand slam
• White Sox are holding a Pope Leo XIV promotion
• This slider is really good and moves the entirely wrong direction
• Jo Adell robbed 3 home runs in the same game
• Red Sox new pitcher pays tribute to dad after 44-mile drive to MLB debut