{"id":23794,"date":"2025-02-06T03:58:09","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T03:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=23794"},"modified":"2025-02-06T03:58:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T03:58:09","slug":"breaking-dodgers-sign-former-yankees-mets-reliever-in-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=23794","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;BREAKING: Dodgers Sign Former Yankees &#038; Mets Reliever in Free Agency!&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Dodgers hope they signed the steal of the offseason, reportedly agreeing to a minor league contract with former New York Yankees and New York Mets reliever Stephen Ridings.<\/p>\n<p>Ridings spent last season with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League in North Carolina and will start the 2025 season with the Dodgers\u2019 Triple-A club in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n<p>The 29-year-old went 1-0 with a 3.06 ERA for the Rockers last season. He appeared in nine games, including seven starts and struck out 41 in 32.1 innings pitched.<\/p>\n<p>Ridings made his big league debut with the Yankees in August 2021. It was a whirlwind season for him which began as a substitute teacher at the\u00a0Palm Beach Maritime Academy in Lantana, Fla.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=dodgersnation&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1879567623220089289&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fdodgersnation.com%2Fdodgers-sign-former-yankees-mets-reliever-in-free-agency%2F2025%2F02%2F05%2F&amp;sessionId=33113a35a67e9f615069b53f9ad102a6e7f1c633&amp;siteScreenName=dodgersnation&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1879567623220089289\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cYeah, I mean I\u2019d go to work, proctor for the day,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/the-substitute-teacher-who-joined-the-yankees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ridings told MLB.com<\/a>. \u201cThen I\u2019d show up to the gym, dressed up in my polo and khakis. I\u2019d change in the bathroom quick, go throw, get a workout in and be done before they closed.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"stream-item stream-item-in-post stream-item-inline-post aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"stream-item-size\">\n<p>In 2019, Ridings was in the minor leagues with the Kansas City Royals, but the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic led him to take a substitute teaching job. He told\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dodgersnation.com\/player\/mlb\/\">MLB<\/a>.com that from October 2020 to early March 2021, he worked at a school where he managed attendance, handed out lesson plans, and maintained classroom discipline.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the day, he needed a paycheck and the job paid while the minor league season was cancelled.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=dodgersnation&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1422732982322966533&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fdodgersnation.com%2Fdodgers-sign-former-yankees-mets-reliever-in-free-agency%2F2025%2F02%2F05%2F&amp;sessionId=33113a35a67e9f615069b53f9ad102a6e7f1c633&amp;siteScreenName=dodgersnation&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1422732982322966533\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe younger kids had no idea,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/the-substitute-teacher-who-joined-the-yankees\">Ridings said<\/a>. \u201cSome of the older ones I talked to about it, they thought it was cool. I don\u2019t know if they heard it through the grapevine, but they would ask me what I do other than this and I would say, \u2018I\u2019m a professional baseball player.\u2019 They tried to Google me. There were a couple kids who had a solid grasp on it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"stream-item stream-item-in-post stream-item-inline-post aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"stream-item-size\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Royals released Ridings one month into his substitute teaching job which led him to training at a nearby gym ran by\u00a0Yankees director of player health and performance\u00a0Eric Cressey.<\/p>\n<p>Ridings ended up appearing in five games for the Yankees during the 2021 season and had an ERA of 1.80. He struck out seven, walked two and gave up four hits in five innings of work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Dodgers hope they signed the steal of the offseason, reportedly agreeing to a minor league contract with former New York Yankees and New York&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&quot;BREAKING: Dodgers Sign Former Yankees &amp; Mets Reliever in Free Agency!&quot; - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=23794\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;BREAKING: Dodgers Sign Former Yankees &amp; 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