Yankees Sign Michael Fulmer to Major League Deal

The Yankees announced a cluster of roster moves centered on their right-handed pitching depth, headlined by the signing of Michael Fulmer to a major league deal.

To make room on the 40-man roster, Kervin Castro was transferred to the 60-day IL. Fernando Cruz was placed on the 15-day IL with right elbow discomfort, and Bradley Hanner was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. On the other side of the ledger, Elmer Rodríguez was recalled from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The moving parts

Cruz's right elbow discomfort is the item to watch — the 15-day IL designation removes him from availability but leaves the nature and timeline of the issue unspecified in the club's announcement. The Castro 60-day IL move is framed as a roster-mechanics step to open the 40-man spot for Fulmer rather than a new injury development, though no additional detail on Castro's status was provided.

Rodríguez's recall lands with immediate operational weight: per earlier Posterior reporting, he is slated as the Yankees' starting pitcher tonight, meaning his promotion was already baked into the day's planning before the full transaction wave was posted.

What we don't know yet

The club's announcement, as reported by Darragh McDonald at MLB Trade Rumors, notes more details are to come — so the terms of Fulmer's deal and any further context around Cruz's elbow remain unspecified. This is the second veteran reliever the Yankees have reportedly added in short order, following the signing of Justin Topa reported earlier this week. The bullpen continues to be an active area of roster construction as the club also monitors the recovery timelines of Clarke Schmidt, who was recently throwing live BP at Yankee Stadium, and Aaron Judge, who has been taking indoor batting practice but has not yet been cleared for game action.