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It isn’t uncommon for veteran major league pitchers who do not sign a major league contract as free agents to go the minor-league route in a quest to resuscitate their careers.
Often, those pitchers have an opt-out in their contracts that allows them to sign a major league deal with another team, if they are not called up to the major leagues first.
Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images
So it was for Anthony DeSclafani. The right-handed pitcher, a veteran of nine major league seasons, signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees in May.
Thursday, DeSclafani elected to opt out of his deal and sign a major league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post on Twitter/X.
Anthony DeSclafani, who the Yankees recently took a minor league flyer on, has used an opt out and is going to the Diamondbacks.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) June 12, 2025
DeSclafani, 35, was 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in five starts with the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the International League. He had 20 strikeouts and nine walks in 20 innings for the Yankees’ top farm team.
More to come on this story from Newsweek Sports.