Yankees and pitching coach Matt Blake agree on three-year contract extension
· Yahoo Sports
The Yankees have agreed on a three-year contract extension with pitching coach Matt Blake, per multiple reports.
Blake, 41, was hired as the team's pitching coach ahead of the 2020 MLB season.
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He will now remain in that role until at least the conclusion of the 2029 MLB season.
Since 2020, the Yankees trail just the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers in with a stellar 3.69 team ERA, are tied with the Seattle Mariners for third best in team WHIP (1.21), and rank fifth-best in K/9 (9.18).
While Blake has been able to rely on acquired stars in his pitching staff, such as Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Max Fried, he has also played a significant role in the farm system graduates both making the jump to and establishing themselves in the big leagues.
This includes most notably presumptive 2026 AL Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler, but also Will Warren, who continues to improve as a underappreciated back-end rotation arm. And while Luis Gil has had two straight seasons riddled with injuries and inconsistency, he did earn the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year award as a standout starter.
Additionally, Nestor Cortes Jr. bloomed under Blake. "Nasty Nestor" broke out in his third stint as a Yankee as a 26-year-old on a minor-league contract, earning a promotion to become a fan favorite starting pitcher in 2021, then earning All-Star honors and an eighth place finish in AL Cy Young voting during a career-best 2022 campaign.
Most recently, in 2026, Blake oversaw the transformation of Paul Blackburn from run-of-the-mill starting pitcher into lethal multi-inning bullpen arm, the emergence of southpaw Brent Headrick as a premier setup man, and the successful post-trade-deadline free agent additions of John Schreiber and Michael Fulmer to aid a thin bullpen at a crucial time in the regular season.