After collecting $8 million over two years from the Yankees without ever throwing a pitch, lefty-reliever Pedro Feliciano is heading back to the crosstown rival Mets.
Feliciano, 36, inked a minor league deal to return to Queens and the only team he’s ever played for. After becoming a free agent at season’s end, the Yankees never offered him a contract.
Feliciano came over to the Yanks after the 2010 season, having been Baseball’s leader in appearances for three straight years. However, that heavy workload had an effect on his arm. In Spring Training in 2011, Feliciano experienced pain in his shoulder, and eventually was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff. He was shutdown, and couldn’t make it back to the majors for the Yanks over the length of his contract. He was nearing a return late this past season, but was shutdown again due to a sprained ankle.
Feliciano is expected to make it back to the majors this year, but his shoulder is still a concern. Doctors have not perfected rotator cuff surgery the way they have with “Tommy John” surgery. Feliciano’s velocity was clocked at just 83 mph last season.
Boone Logan is the only lefty in the Yankees bullpen at the moment.
