Who is Yankees closer Luke Weaver? What went wrong when he pitched for the Reds, Royals?

The New York Yankees are counting on relief pitcher Luke Weaver to help them throughout the 2024 MLB postseason, much to the surprise of many Reds fans who cringed when he was scheduled to start for Cincinnati in 2023.

In the first playoff pitching appearances of his career, the Yankees used him in high-leverage situations in each of their four American League Division Series games against the Kansas City Royals .

Weaver recorded saves in all three of the Yankees' wins in the best-of-five series to help New York advance to the ALCS. Weaver had a five-out save in Game 3.

In his four ALDS appearances, Weaver allowed just two hits without a walk, striking out five of the 15 batters he faced.

Weaver impressed for the Yankees during the regular season as well, posting a 7-3 record and 2.89 ERA in a career-high 62 appearances, striking out 103 in 84 innings.

It was a very different story for Weaver for the Cincinnati Reds in 2023. In 21 appearances (all starts) for the Reds, Weaver posted a 6.87 ERA and allowed 24 home runs in 97 innings. He was released by the Reds last August.

So what happened between then and now for Weaver? What to know about the 31-year-old from DeLand, Florida:

Weaver was used exclusively as a reliever for the first time in his MLB career.

After the Reds released Weaver, the Mariners signed him , and he posted a 6.08 ERA in five appearances for Seattle. The Yankees selected him off waivers from the Mariners last September, and he made three starts for New York late in the 2023 season.

He was a candidate to start for the Yankees during spring training, but they instead moved him to the bullpen. And it's been the best season he's had since posting a 2.94 ERA in 12 starts for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019.

Weaver was a first-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2014 MLB draft.

Weaver went 27th overall in the draft, eight picks after the Reds selected right-handed pitcher Nick Howard, who never reached the majors.

The Reds selected Alex Blandino two picks after the Cards took Weaver. Blandino signed a minor-league deal with the Reds last November in an attempt to come back as a pitcher.

Neither of the top two overall picks in the 2014 draft, Brady Aiken and Tyler Kolek, reached the big leagues. First-round picks in that draft included Carlos Rodon, former Middletown High School standout Kyle Schwarber , Aaron Nola, Kyle Freeland, former Red Jeff Hoffman, Michael Conforto, Trea Turner, former Red Brandon Finnegan, Erick Fedde, Grant Holmes, Matt Chapman, Michael Kopech, Jack Flaherty and Connor Joe.

Weaver was among players the Cardinals traded to the Diamondbacks for Paul Goldschmidt.

In December 2018, St. Louis sent Weaver, Carson Kelly, Andrew Young and a 2019 competitive balance round B pick to Arizona for Goldschmidt.

Weaver impressed in 2019, but led the league in losses with nine while posting a 6.58 ERA in 12 starts in 2020.

After posting a 4.25 ERA in 13 starts in 2021, Arizona moved Weaver to the bullpen in 2022. He posted a 7.71 ERA in 16 1/3 innings, and was traded to Kansas City for Emmanuel Rivera in August 2022.

Weaver made 14 appearances as a reliever that season for Kansas City, but Seattle selected him off waivers in October. The Mariners granted him free agency, and he signed with the Reds in January 2023.

Weaver replaced Clay Holmes as the Yankees' closer in September.

Weaver converted all four of his save opportunities in September before recording his first-ever postseason save.

Over the past month, Weaver has struck out 27 of the 44 batters he's faced.

The Yankees paid Weaver $2 million this season, with a $2 million option for 2025.

The fact that the Yankees are paying Weaver so little relative to many of the top relief pitchers in today's game makes it sting even more for the four teams (Arizona, Kansas City, Cincinnati and Seattle) that let Weaver get away in 2022 and 2023.

The Royals might kick themselves the most, if Weaver helps the Yankees move on to the American League Championship Series.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who is Yankees closer Luke Weaver? What went wrong when he pitched for the Reds, Royals?