Lefty Krook hopes to steal bullpen job
TAMPA — It took 500 innings — which did not even include the 2020 season that the pandemic stole — in three different organizations.
But nearly seven years after Matt Krook was taken by the Giants in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, he has cracked a 40-man roster.
“It was awesome,” Krook said Friday, remembering the November phone call in which the Yankees, by selecting him to the roster, were protecting him from the Rule 5 draft. “I’ve been in the minor leagues for a long time. So to get that call and get added and for them to believe in me meant a lot. It felt really good.”
The next call would feel even better.
Krook has entered Yankees camp as a dark horse to win a spot in the bullpen. And the team could use someone like him. The Yankees have plenty of penciled-in Opening Day relief options from the right side (Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, Michael King, Jonathan Loaisiga, Lou Trivino and perhaps Ron Marinaccio) and only one from the left (Wandy Peralta).
The 28-year-old Krook is a southpaw who is especially tough on lefty batters. They hit .172 against him with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season. Krook was primarily a starter, but was used late in the minor league season as a reliever, a role in which he was so impressive that manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees contemplated adding him to the playoff roster.
Krook had been a part of taxi squads, but said he did not realize how close he was to debuting last season and perhaps in the postseason.
“He’s a real problem for lefties,” Boone said this week. “He’s an interesting guy, and if nothing else is a built-in problem for lefties.’’
The California native originally was a first-round pick of the Marlins in 2013, but a failed physical pushed him to the University of Oregon. Three years later, the Giants selected Krook, who was sent to the Rays in December 2017 as part of the Evan Longoria trade.
Krook made it to Double-A in 2019 before he was left out of the Rays’ alternate site in 2020, then was scooped up by the Yankees in the minor league Rule 5 draft in December of that year.
In 2021, Krook, who has added a cutter to his sinker-slider repertoire, broke through when he reached Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and pitched to a 3.17 ERA. He followed it up with a solid 2022 that ended on the brink of the majors.
Boone said the next step for the 6-foot-4, funky lefty will be working on his command after he walked 4.74 hitters per nine innings last season. Will the next step, though, arrive through the bullpen or rotation?
The Yankees will stretch him out for now, but it is possible they decide the major league bullpen could use a southpaw who is already on the 40-man roster.
“I feel like I’m ready,” said Krook, who added he will happily do whatever is asked. “I’m super excited to contribute any way I can to be a part of this team.”