One of the most exciting and enthusiastic pitchers in baseball is headed back to the United States in 2025. Left-handed reliever Jefry Yan has signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies.
Yan, 28, signed with the Los Angeles Angels organization at 16 in 2013. He debuted in the organization in 2014, but unfortunately, he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016, prompting the Angels to release him in 2017. Yan spent just two seasons pitching in the Angels organization.
Four years after being released by the Angels, Yan was discovered pitching in a men’s league in Arizona in 2021, where he went on to sign with the Miami Marlins. Yan reached as high as Double-A in his first season back in the minors, where across two levels, he went 0-1 with a 2.61 ERA in 21 games, striking out 51 batters across 31 innings. He would stay aboard the Marlins for 2022, throwing the entirety of the year in Double-A, going 2-4 with a 4.89 ERA in 38 appearances and four starts, logging 57 innings, and striking out 88 batters. Yan pitched 43 games in Double-A in 2023 before being promoted to Triple-A in 2023 but struggled in six games.
Yan became a free agent once again at the end of the 2023 season where he signed with the Saitama Seibu Lions for the 2024 season. Yan appeared in 37 games in the Pacific League with the Lions, posting a 5.58 ERA, striking out 35 batters, and walking 19 across 30.2 innings of work. Yan is currently pitching with the Estrellas Orientales in LIDOM, where he holds a 1.45 ERA in 22 games, with 24 strikeouts throughout 18.2 innings.
It will be intriguing to see if Yan will be able to land a bullpen spot on Opening Day, but it will likely be a battle to see whether he opens the season at Double-A or Triple-A. The Rockies currently have southpaw relievers Lucas Gilbreath, Evan Justice, and Luis Peralta, as Yan will look to add his electricity to a bullpen that could use the excitement and energy that Yan possesses.
