Ryan Christian Yarbrough (born December 31, 1991) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. The

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

selected Yarbrough in the fourth round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...

and he made his MLB debut with the Rays in 2018.

Amateur career

After graduating from All Saints' Academy in

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is located about east of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and about southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, with neighboring Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland located to its west. The city's popul ...

, Yarbrough played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Santa Fe College Santa Fe College is a public college in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is part of the Florida College System and offers both associate and baccalaureate degree programs. Established in 1965 by the Florida Legislature as Santa Fe Junior ...

in 2011 before transferring to

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

, where he pitched for the

Monarchs A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority an ...

in 2013 and 2014. He was drafted by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

in the 20th round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of ...

but did not sign. In 2014, his senior season, he had a 6–7

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

with a 4.50

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 18

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

(14 starts).

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

The

selected Yarbrough in the fourth round of the

and he made his professional debut with the

Pulaski Mariners Pulaski may refer to: Places * Pulaski Heights, a section of the city of Little Rock, Arkansas * Pulaski Shoal, an underwater landform west of the Florida Keys * Pulaski, Georgia, a town * Pulaski Square, one of the "Squares of Savannah" in t ...

. After two games, he was promoted to the

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is the High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seatin ...

. Overall, he pitched in 14 games (10 starts) and had a 1.27 ERA with 58

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

in 2014. In 2015, he played for the

Arizona League Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is comp ...

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

, and

Bakersfield Blaze The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the California League at the Class A-Advanced level, hosting home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facing ...

, where he compiled a combined 4–8 record and 4.10 ERA in 22 starts. In 2016, he pitched for the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

where he was 12–4 with a 2.95 ERA and 1.11

WHIP A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

in 25 starts.

Tampa Bay Rays

On January 11, 2017, the Mariners traded Yarbrough,

Mallex Smith Mallex Lydell Smith (born May 6, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, and Seattle ...

, and Carlos Vargas to the

for pitcher

Drew Smyly Todd Andrew Smyly (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, San ...

. Yarbrough spent the season with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

where he pitched to a 13–6 record and 3.43 ERA in 26 starts. The Rays added him to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

after the season. Yarbrough made the Rays'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster in 2018, making his debut against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

on March 31, pitching four innings, allowing one run and recording three strikeouts. His first MLB strikeout was of

Brock Holt Brock Wyatt Holt (born June 11, 1988), nicknamed "The Brock Star", is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nat ...

. Yarbrough finished the season with 16 wins, the most for a rookie in franchise history, the most for a rookie in the 2018 season, and the second-most on the team. He finished his rookie season posting an

of 3.91 over innings despite working predominantly out of the bullpen. Yarbrough was mainly utilized as the "bulk guy" behind the Rays' new

opener Opener, Open'er or Openers may refer to: * Opener (album), ''Opener'' (album), an album by 8mm * Opener (baseball), a baseball strategy to use a relief pitcher to start a game * Open'er Festival, a contemporary music festival held in Gdynia, Poland ...

strategy. On April 24, 2019, Yarbrough was optioned to Triple-A after registering an ERA of 8.10 in his first five appearances of the season. He rejoined the Rays on May 23. On July 14, against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

, after

Ryne Stanek Ryne Thomas Stanek (born July 26, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, and Seattle Mariners ...

opened with two perfect innings, Yarbrough then pitched six perfect innings of his own, losing the combined

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New Yo ...

bid to a leadoff single in the ninth inning. His run of success continued in the season's second half, as he improved his ERA to 3.51 and his WHIP to 0.88 by September 10, which would have been second-best in MLB among starting pitchers if Yarbrough pitched enough innings to qualify. He struggled in his last few starts and finished the season 11–6 with a 4.13 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 117 strikeouts over innings. He pitched three scoreless innings as a reliever in the American League (AL) Division Series against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. Due to many injuries to their pitching staff to begin the 2020 season, Yarbrough was used exclusively in the rotation before suffering a groin injury and being placed on the disabled list on August 29. For the season, he was 1-4 with a 3.56 ERA in 11 games, while leading the AL in hit batsmen, with seven. He pitched five innings in Game 4 of the

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball postseason. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series ...

against the

, allowing two runs on six hits and started the third game of the AL Championship Series, picking up the win. In the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

against the

, Yarbrough pitched in three games, starting one of them, and allowed two earned runs on seven hits in innings. On June 3, 2021, Yarbrough threw a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

victory against the Yankees at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

, the first Rays complete game by a pitcher since

Matt Andriese Matthew Lee Andriese (; born August 28, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red S ...

in May 2016. The five-year drought was the longest in the league. It was Yarbrough's first career complete game and first win as a starter in the regular season since he pitched into the ninth inning against the Mariners at

Safeco Field T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof ballpark in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the w ...

in 2019. For the season, he was 9–7 with a 5.11 ERA in 30 games (21 starts). Yarbrough made 30 appearances (nine starts) in 2022 for the Rays, with a 3–8 record and 4.50 ERA. Following the season, on November 15, the Rays designated him for assignment and he was non-tendered and became a free agent on November 18.

Kansas City Royals

On December 13, 2022, Yarbrough signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the

. In a May 7, 2023, game against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

, he was struck in the head by a 106-mph line drive off the bat of Ryan Noda. He was later diagnosed with multiple non-displaced fractures around his right eye and placed on the injured list. He did not rejoin the active roster until July 9. Yarbrough pitched in 14 games, making seven starts for the Royals with a 4–5 record and 4.24 ERA in 51 innings.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On August 1, 2023, Yarbrough was traded to the

for Devin Mann and Derlin Figueroa. He pitched in 11 games (two starts), compiling a 4–2 record and 4.89 ERA with 38 strikeouts. Yarbrough agreed to a $3.9 million contract with the Dodgers for 2024 in

salary arbitration Free agency in Major League Baseball (MLB) concerns players whose contracts with a team have expired and who are therefore eligible to sign with another team. Free agents may be eligible for pendulum arbitration, also called "salary arbitration" ...

. In 32 games, he was 4–2 with a 3.74 ERA and 39 strikeouts. Yarbrough was designated for assignment on July 29, 2024.

Toronto Blue Jays

On July 30, 2024, the Dodgers traded Yarbrough to the

for Kevin Kiermaier. In 12 appearances for Toronto, Yarbrough logged a 1–0 record and 2.01 ERA with 26 strikeouts across innings pitched. On February 20, 2025, Yarbrough re-signed with the Blue Jays on a minor league contract. On March 21, Yarbrough exercised the opt-out on his contract after being cut from the major league roster. On March 23, he was granted free agency.

New York Yankees

On March 24, 2025, Yarbrough signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the

, including a reported $250,000 in incentives. Yarbrough said he chose the Yankees over a similar offer from the Blue Jays, which included a clause allowing the team to terminate the guaranteed portion of his salary within 45 days, because New York offered different incentives. Yarbrough got out to a strong start in New York, beginning in the bullpen and moving to the rotation in May and posting a 2.08 ERA in his first five starts. Yarbrough had one of the slowest fastball in the majors, averaging 87.5 miles per hour.

Personal life

Yarbrough is a Christian. He and his first wife, Nicole, married in 2019 and had their first child, a daughter, in 2021. A second daughter was born in 2023.

References

External links

Old Dominion Monarchs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarbrough, Ryan 1991 births Living people Baseball players from Lakeland, Florida Major League Baseball pitchers Tampa Bay Rays players Kansas City Royals players Los Angeles Dodgers players Toronto Blue Jays players New York Yankees players Old Dominion Monarchs baseball players Pulaski Mariners players Everett AquaSox players Arizona League Mariners players Arizona Complex League Royals players Clinton LumberKings players Bakersfield Blaze players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Durham Bulls players Omaha Storm Chasers players Santa Fe Saints baseball players