Although the New York Yankees are ramping up Clarke Schmidt’s rehab as injuries stack up to the roof in the 2026 MLB season, that won’t be the only effort made by the organization. Additionally, a report states relief pitcher Justin Topa is on his way back to the Yankees‘ bullpen.
Coming off an encouraging stint with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at Triple-A, Topa is ready for the next challenge. However, he is up for a steep climb, especially after struggling to find his footing in MLB action this year. In fact, his struggles are such that he hasn’t played in the Show since May.
“The Yankees are planning to call up reliever Justin Topa, who they recently signed,” as reported by Joel Sherman from the New York Post and MLB Network on his X account.
The report comes on the heels of manager Aaron Boone disclosing Ryan Weathers’ new role when he returns from the IL, putting on full display how serious New York is about its season and the lengths it will go to stay alive. Still, Topa’s call-up might be a bold move.
Justin Topa could be on his way back to an MLB bullpen.
Topa has struggled all year long
The 2023 MLB season remains Topa’s career best, and it’s safe to say it won’t be challenged by his production in 2026. So far, Topa has appeared in 23 games, all of them with the Minnesota Twins, but his numbers have been abysmal.
Through 19 innings pitched, Topa has a -0.7 WAR, 8.05 ERA, and 2.00 WHIP. It may come as a shock, but his ERA in 2026 isn’t even the worst of his career. In 2021, while playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, Topa appeared in only four games for the club in Cream City, finishing the year with a 29.70 ERA.
Still, the 2026 campaign has been very rough for Topa, who was cut by the Twins in May. Since then, he’s had minor-league stints with the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. Neither organization went as far as to promote him to the Show, though. The Yankees, however, are reportedly trending toward doing so.
NY Yankees down to last bullets
Whether it’s entirely because of Topa’s production in Triple-A—where he allowed just one run in five innings—or because the Bronx Bombers are desperate to find alternatives as pitchers go down like flies in the home stretch of the campaign, it matters little.
When the time comes, Topa will have to step onto the mound and prove the Yankees made the right call and that the rest of the league was wrong to write him off.
