Jayvien Sandridge never met Yogi Berra.
The young pitcher might not even know Berra’s reputation.
But, right about now, he probably knows what the former New York Yankees catcher/manager/pundit meant when he said “It’s déjà vu all over again.”
History repeated itself on Sunday.
For the second time in three days, Sandridge was promoted from Triple A Scranton/Wilkes Barre to join the New York Yankees bullpen.
Then on Monday, for the second time in three days, the Yankees demoted the Hagerstown resident and former Mercersburg Academy star back to the RailRiders to make way for a veteran player.
Each time, Sandridge was anticipating the opportunity to make his Major League debut. Each time he never left the dugout.
Sandridge, a left-handed reliever, was elevated to New York on Sunday when the Yankees put starting pitcher Ryan Yarbrough on the disabled list with a slight oblique strain he suffered in Jan 13. He joined the Yankees for Sunday morning’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Yankees had already decided to demote Sandridge to promote another starting pitcher – Allan Winans – from Scranton. Winans, who played for Atlanta from 2023-24, was slotted to start Monday night’s game against Cincinnati.
Since Sandridge and Winans are both already on New York’s 40-man roster, it became an easy switch.
Sandridge was promoted for the first time last Thursday to replace Yerry De los Santos, who was placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow discomfort.
He returned to Scranton on Friday when New York activated reliever Luke Weaver from the injured list.
For Sandridge, it’s the latest turn in his whirlwind journey to Major League baseball.
He started this season on the injured list and was inactive until May. He made four rehabilitation appearances – two at Tampa and Hudson Valley, both Single-A teams – before joining Scranton. He pitched seven innings in six games, allowing one run on four hits with four walks and 13 strikeouts for a 1.29 earned run average.
It was the latest chapter of the story that started in 2018 when he was drafted in the 32nd round – 955th player overall – by the Baltimore Orioles.
He spent two seasons on the Orioles’ Gulf Coast League rookie team. After being released, he signed with Cincinnati before playing in San Diego’s minor-league system in 2024.
He signed with the Yankees in February.
Sandridge climbed Hagerstown’s youth league ladder, playing at Federal Little League, Hagerstown PONY League and Funkstown Post 211 American Legion.
At Mercersburg, he went 7-0 with a 0.97 ERA over 43 innings in his senior year, while striking out 70. He allowed 23 hits and walked 29, but only allowed six earned runs. The Blue Storm went 19-5 and won two league titles – the Mid-Atlantic Prep League and the Independent-Parochial School League – that season.
Now, Jayvien Sandridge is waiting of his call to New York.
