Getting to know McKinley Moore, the Yankees’ most recent addition
The Yankees claimed a 25-year-old right-handed reliever, and he brings a big fastball with him. Control, however, is a big problem.
On Friday, it was revealed that the Yankees claimed right-handed reliever McKinley Moore off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies. The Bombers just lost Scott Effross for at least a few months and have been doing their best to spot potential low-risk, high-reward opportunities to stash.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73146326/1482504718.0.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Moore is the most recent flier taken by the Yanks. He is a tall (6-foot-6) right-hander with a big frame who is still young, at 25 years old. The Yankees surely like the fact he has big fastball velocity (sitting in the mid-to-high 90s range, touching 99 mph), so there is something to work with. Drafted in the 14th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox (410th overall), Moore had joined the Phillies in the Adam Haseley trade in March 2022. He has one notorious flaw, though: he can’t consistently throw strikes.
Injuries derailed his 2023 season and limited him to 23.2 innings between Single-A, Double-A, Triple-A and the majors. In that limited sample size, the righty walked a whopping 27 hitters. Yeah, that would be a problem in MLB if he were to have an extended chance. The Yankees, however, aren’t bringing him in to save their bullpen. They are doing it because they think they can work with him to get him to find the plate more consistently, and the downside is minimal.
Baseball America recently featured Moore on their “10 Philadelphia Phillies Prospects To Know Beyond The Top 30 in 2024”, by Josh Norris. They ranked him 35th on their system, and called him a potential “low-leverage bullpen piece.” When the Phillies acquired Moore from the White Sox in the spring of 2022, Kyle Glaser wrote that he had “a fastball up to 99 mph and a potentially plus slider, but he struggles to command his slider and has difficulty throwing strikes in general. He’s a flyer bullpen prospect whose arm strength gives him a chance to rise if he can figure out his control.”
