Former Dodgers Reliever Elects to Leave Yankees Organization, Enter Free Agency

The New York Yankees designated a former Los Angeles reliever for assignment on Sunday and he elected free agency on Wednesday.

Phil Bickford had a rough five-game tenure with the Yankees and that doesn’t include his New York haircut. He allowed eight earned runs over five innings and five of those runs were scored on Saturday while Bickford only recorded two outs.

Bickford didn’t have any options left which meant the Yankees needed to DFA him for the third time in his career in order to free up his spot on the 40-man roster. He is now searching for his next job after declining his outright assignment.

Bickford leaves the Yankees with an ERA of 14.40 but it was a small sample size considering the number of innings he pitched. Over parts of five big league seasons, he has a record of 11-8 with a 4.70 ERA, two saves, 21 holds, and 208 strikeouts in 185.2 innings.

The former first-round pick of the San Francisco Giants debuted with the Milwaukee Brewers before spending parts of 2021 and 2022 with the Dodgers.

Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

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