Jameson Taillon thrilled to join Yankees, calls getting traded by Pirates a 'necessary' move

Jameson Taillon called his trade to the New York Yankees “necessary” as the Pittsburgh Pirates rebuild, and welcomed the opportunity to “contribute to a winning team and a winning organization.”

The right-handed pitcher was introduced Monday as the newest member of the Yankees in a 25-minute video conference call, where he discussed everything from reuniting with old teammate Gerrit Cole, dealing with so many surgeries and reconstructing his throwing motion to a bittersweet departure from the team that drafted him.

“I’m extremely excited for this opportunity,” Taillon said. “I’m jumping into a legendary franchise, a legendary organization. Overnight, I went from a rebuilding organization to a team like the Yankees, where … the only thing they care about is to win, so that’s kind of lit a fire under me and I’m really excited.”

Taillon was the third major player traded by the Pirates since Christmas Eve, when they sent All-Star first baseman Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals, and just six days after Joe Musgrove was sent to the San Diego Padres in a three-team deal.

“Seeing all my good friends get traded in Pittsburgh and to see the direction we were headed, I think it was necessary,” said Taillon, who missed the 2020 season while rehabilitating from his second TJ surgery in August 2019. “But, at the same, I was going to be out there throwing bullets on a team that wasn’t expected to compete for a World Series, which didn’t necessarily light a fire under me.

“Ever since I got the news that I was going to New York, I haven’t felt nervous, I haven’t felt overwhelmed. I’ve just been extremely excited for the opportunity. I felt like I’m at a maturity level at a point in my career and a point in my life where this is what I want, this is a team that I want to be a part of, this is a team I want to help.”

The Pirates drafted Taillon No. 2 overall in 2010, one spot behind Bryce Harper and one ahead of Manny Machado. As those players became superstars, Taillon was sidetracked when he sandwiched two Tommy John surgeries around those for a hernia and testicular cancer.

Taillon was 29-24 with a 3.67 ERA in 82 starts over four seasons, and the Pirates never made the playoffs in that span despite three consecutive postseason appearances from 2013-15. That left Taillon feeling disappointed about his career with the Pirates, where he was expected to be one of the franchise cornerstones.

“Over the past two days, I’ve been processing some thoughts and emotions and that’s one that comes to mind,” Taillon said. “When you get drafted by an organization, you dream of making it up to the big leagues with all your guys you get drafted by, all the long bus rides in the minor leagues is going to pay off because we’re going to win together in Pittsburgh.”

Taillon reflected on the “exciting, prospect-heavy team” the Pirates had on their Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, in 2016. The pitching staff featured future starters in Taillon, Tyler Glasnow, Trevor Williams, Chad Kuhl and Steven Brault, and the lineup also included Bell, Austin Meadows, Adam Frazier and Jacob Stallings.

“We just had conversations all the time about, ‘What’s it going to be like when we’re all up there together, taking the ball together every fifth day? We’re working together. We’re winning,’” Taillon said. “This is the end of that for me, so there’s some emotions there. It’s a great room of guys there in Pittsburgh, and it would have been really fun to win something with them and achieve with them.”

Instead, the Pirates had only one winning season in Taillon’s tenure — going 82-79 in 2018 — and followed that by finishing in last place (69-93) in the NL Central in ’19 and with the worst record in baseball (19-41) in the shortened season last summer.

That prompted a teardown that included Taillon, who believes the Pirates have the right people in place for a rebuild in general manager Ben Cherington, field manager Derek Shelton and pitching coach Oscar Marin.

“But as these guys are getting traded and moving on, they’re all exciting opportunities — I’m excited for everyone — and, on the flip side, there’s going to be opportunities there for a lot of young guys to step up. You have no choice but to step up when some of the veterans leave.

“With Shelty, Ben and Oscar, I think it’s the right group of guys to lead that team. It’s just going to take awhile. Emotional? Yeah. I wish it would have worked out a little better for us. I wish the run would have been stronger. I wish I could have stayed healthy. I was drafted in a position where a lot was expected of me and, at this point, I felt like I never got to show it in Pittsburgh. But, on the flip side, I feel like I’m at a point now where I’m ready to prove that promise and to go contribute to a winning team.”

Rejoining a rotation anchored by Cole, selected by the Pirates with the No. 1 overall pick in 2011, has Taillon “really excited.” They were roommates for a few years at spring training in Bradenton, Fla., and remain close friends. The Pirates traded Cole to the Houston Astros in January 2018, and he signed a record $324 million, nine-year free-agent contract with the Yankees last offseason.

“I leaned real heavily on him when I got called up because he beat me to Pittsburgh by a few years,” Taillon said. “I asked him everything as a rookie. I looked up to him a lot, as a teammate and a friend. I’m sure I’ll be doing the same here in New York.”

Taillon joins a rotation that includes Cole and two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, who missed last season with a torn labrum, for a team that has won 27 World Series championships and reached the postseason 56 times, including the past four years and five of the past six. That has Taillon pumped about the prospect of pitching in the playoffs for the first time in his major-league career.

“It’s going to be really exciting,” Taillon said. “New York’s one of those organizations where it’s all about winning. From what I’ve heard, nothing else matters in that clubhouse. It’s a group of guys trying to make each other better, trying to push for October.

“Seriously, ever since I got the news that the Yankees are where I was headed, I can’t stop thinking about that. … I’m a fan of baseball, always been a fan of baseball and, as a kid, when I think of playoff baseball, I think of Yankee Stadium in October so I welcome the opportunity to do it.”