Brett Tomko is attempting a return to Major League Baseball at the age of 40. He is open to a bullpen job and is also willing to spend time in Triple-A on a minor league deal before getting a call up. Zach Links of MLB Trade Rumors believes his willingness to act as a mentor toward young prospects will help him land a job. Tomko will begin throwing for interested teams in the next few weeks, but the half dozen teams who are interested won't make a decision until well into spring training, when they can properly asses their pitching depth.
The Yankees previously showed interest in the righty during the 2013 season and are likely one of the teams currently scouting him. He has been playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic and was scouted throwing 90-92 mph fastball with a good changeup and cutter. Tomko pitched for the Atlantic League's York Revolution last season and made 19 starts with a 4.98 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 2.2 BB/9 in 124 2/3 innings.
He hasn't played in the majors since 2011, though he spent time in the Reds and Diamondbacks organizations in 2012. You'll remember Tomko as a member of the 2009 Yankee bullpen, pitching 20.2 innings over 15 games. Any interest the Yankees might have would be for Triple-A bullpen depth only. He likely won't be much of an option for the big league bullpen at this point, but his experience could be useful in 2014. A deal like this is probably Tomko's way of making a transition into coaching once he retires.
