has been one of the Yankees best low-cost pickups in recent memory. Originally landing in the Bronx via a Sept. 2023 waiver claim, Weaver pitched well in three starts for the Yankees down the stretch that year and made a good enough impre sion that the Yanks re-signed him to a major league deal in January after hed become a free agent. He moved to the bullpen in 2024 and made his $2MM base salary look like a raucous bargain. The Yankees made the no-brainer call to pick up a $2.5MM option on Weaver for the 2025 season, and while he hasnt been as good as he was in 24, hes still been a key member of the relief corps. Weaver is slated to return to free agency for a second time this offseason, and hell do so with much higher stock than last time around. The 32-year-old figures to be one of the top relievers on the market unle s he follows the same path as former teammate and signs with an eye toward moving back into a rotation. The extent to which teams around the league will have interest in that scenario remains to be seen, but when asked about the po sibility, Weaver himself on their podcast that hes open to the idea: For so long, being a starting pitcher you dont expect to be a reliever. Being a starting pitcher, honestly, has got to be the best job in the big leagues especially when its going well. But, I just found this niche. I just found this ability to do something a little bit different and use my background of starting to channel it Devin Smeltzer Jersey into how I pitch now. The door is open. I am never just going to say, Absolutely not. When the time comes, lets talk about it. Clay has done a great job this year in that transition. I dont know what people are saying, but Ive watched from afar, and Im proud of him. Thats a really cool thing that hes done. The transition, I dont think people truly understand thats crazy. To do it as consistent as he has, I commend him. Its cool to see that its po sible, too. We see it happening from time to time now. Teams are being a little more strategic. So, yes, Im very much open to it, but I also am not just like, Yeah I want to go do that, or, Yeah I want to go do this. Lets sit at the table. Lets have a conversation and see what that looks like and what best [puts me in position] to be the most succe sful. I would like to have those options if they are there. Weaver began his career as a starter and enjoyed plenty of early succe s. The former Florida State standout was the No. 27 overall pick by the Cardinals in 2014 and was in the big leagues just two years later. His debut effort was rocky, but in 2017, Weaver made 10 starts (and three relief appearances) for the Cardinals in a season that saw him pitch 60 1/3 innings of 3.88 ERA ball. He pitched 136 1/3 innings in 2018 and scuffled a bit, logging a 4.95 ERA, before coheadlining (alongside ) the Diamondbacks return for , who was traded to St. Louis one year ahead of his first crack at free agency. In 2019, Weaver looked to be in a full-fledged breakout with Arizona. He started a dozen games and pitched 64 1/3 innings with a 2.94 earned run average, a 26.5% strikeout rate and a 5.4% walk rate. A flexor strain wiped out nearly two-thirds of his season, however, and when Weaver returned during the shortened 2020 season, the right-hander struggled badly. Weaver made a full slate of 12 starts and notched solid strikeout and walk rates, but he was also immensely homer-prone (1.73 HR/9) and limped to a 6.58 ERA in just 52 innings. Shoulder and elbow injuries plagued Weaver each season from 2021-23. He posted a combined 5.80 ERA in 225 innings between four teams acro s those three seasons but, as previously noted, impre sed the Yankees down the stretch. Heyman noted within the podcast that Weavers opportunities that offseason included a major league deal to return to the Yankees, a series of minor league deals with spring training invitations, or some options overseas. He chose to sign with the Yankees on that one-year contract, and hes been reborn in the Bronx. Through 145 1/3 innings out of s bullpen, Weaver has pitched to a 3.28 ERA with a 29.6% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate, a 32.2% ground-ball rate and 1.24 HR/9. The 93.8 mph he averaged on his four-seamer as a starting pitcher earlier in his career has spiked to 95.4 mph in short relief. Hes mostly scrapped his former mid-80s slider in favor of a harder, firmer cutter in the low 90s and worked off a four-seam/changeup/cutter mix thats served him quite well. That three-pitch mix, at least on the surface, would seemingly give Weaver a decent chance to transition back to rotation work. Hes the same age now that Holmes was when he reached free agency last winter. On the other hand, Holmes 65, 245-pound frame is more in line with the prototypical starting pitcher than Weavers more slight, 62, 180-pound frame. Thats not to say that Weaver cant make a similar transition, but that leaner build is le s common among starting pitchers, who tend to skew a bit on the larger side (which is only natural, given the physical demands of a starters workload). Regardle s, Weaver could well draw some interest as an under-the-radar rotation candidate this winter. Many of the expected top names in free agency have struggled this year, whether thats with injuries or just le ser results than one mightve expected on Opening Day. , , , , , and are just some of the many pitchers whose platform year for free agency hasnt gone as hoped. Weaver could present an intriguing alternative, particularly since hes demonstrated that he can have succe s in a short relief role if stretching him back out doesnt go according to plan. Weaver made clear that hes very interested in re-signing with the Yankees as well, but hell see what all of his opportunities look like in free agency this winter. His openne s to stretching back out should lead to an even wider field of teams who are potentially interested and give him even more po sibilities to consider. For now, the rightys focus is understandably on the present and on pushing as deep into the postseason as po sible, but hell be a far more fascinating free agent to track in the winter of 2025-26 than in 2023-24. Fans Yankees fans in particular will want to check out the full interview, during which Weaver discu ses (among many other topics) the rigors of trying to be available as often as po sible, some pivotal differences in a pitchers mindset depending on the situations theyre facing, and his thoughts on the AL MVP race between two of his close friends: and . Xzavion Curry Jersey