Yankees option Yerry de los Santos back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

Yerry de los Santos was back on the bus to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the Yankees used him for two innings against the Tigers and then sent the right-hander down again. In Monday’s outing, the 28-year-old allowed two unearned runs on two hits, and the club answered by optioning him to Triple-A as the bullpen shuffle kept moving.

The move came just seven days after New York recalled de los Santos from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 22. That short turnaround tells the story of where he sits in the pecking order: useful enough to cover innings, not yet locked into the group when the Yankees start sorting out late-game roles and the last few spots on the staff.

De los Santos has given the Yankees enough to stay in the conversation. In 2026 major league action, he posted a 1.35 ERA with seven strikeouts across 6.2 innings, and he had worked 31.2 Triple-A innings with a 3.41 ERA and 36 strikeouts before the latest call-up. Across his Triple-A career, he has piled up 211 games and a 3.29 ERA, a track record that keeps him near the front of the next-man-up line.

The right-hander’s profile also explains why New York keeps circling back to him. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, de los Santos was born in Samana, Dominican Republic, on Dec. 12, 1997, and made his MLB debut on May 25, 2022. The Yankees know exactly what he is: a power arm with enough history in the organization to be moved up and down as the roster demands.

For Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the assignment is direct. De los Santos needs sharper outings, cleaner work with runners on, and the kind of strikeout production that matches the 36 punchouts he has already posted in Triple-A this season. If he strings together a run of efficient appearances, he can put himself back at the top of the call-up list when New York needs a fresh arm.

The Yankees’ bullpen churn has not been limited to de los Santos. June also brought transactions involving Elmer Rodríguez, Jake Bird, J.C. Escarra and David Bednar, a stretch of movement that shows how aggressively the club is still managing depth around the pitching staff and catching group. For now, de los Santos is back in Scranton, but he remains close enough to New York that one strong week can change the conversation again.