See Also New York Yankees TAMPA Gerrit Cole was preparing for a season, throwing bullpens at UC-Irvine, when he added profe sional scout to his ledger. Cole had known Tyler Matzek for a long time. Bring up the name and Cole notes that Matzek had struck him out twice in high school in their shared Orange County youth. Now, he noticed the life on Matzeks pitches, the incorporation of a new two-seamer that the two would chat about, and he knew the Yankees Brook Lopez Jersey would love to add a lefty reliever. So the Yankees ace asked Matzek if he could recommend him to the Yankees. Sure, why not, Matzek figured. And this chain began: Cole texted Brian Cashman to vouch for what he was seeing and sent along some video of Matzek throwing that got distributed to all the right people in the organization, which led to scout J.T. Stotts watching Matzek and, shortly afterward, the signing of a minor league contract. Now, lets discu s the mountain to climb: Matzek had Tommy John surgery in October 2022, mi sed the 2023 season, had a 9.90 ERA in 11 appearances with the Braves last year, went to the IL with elbow inflammation and was traded as mainly a financial counterweight to . He never pitched for the Giants, and then never pitched for the Braves when they brought him back after he was released by San Francisco. Robin Lopez Jersey