A Slovak-born left-handed pitcher has faced six batters from the New York Yankees in two outings, allowing one hit while posting a 0 ERA and 1.91 FIP over 1 2/3 innings. In his debut, he entered with Toronto leading 5-3 and a runner on first with two outs, recorded a ground out, then retired the first two batters of the next inning before the lead was lost. In a later appearance, he struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr., allowed a single, then got a pop out and was replaced with the runner stranded. He was drafted by Seattle in 2019, later traded to Toronto for Teoscar Hernández. Hernández struggled in Seattle, while Erik Swanson had a strong 2023 but later injuries and performance issues led to his release.
"In two outings against the New York Yankees, the Slovak-born left-handed pitcher has given up one hit against the six batters he's faced, giving him a 0 ERA and 1.91 FIP over an inning and two-thirds. And it's not like these were low-leverage situations either. His debut, on Monday, saw him enter the game with the Blue Jays up 5-3 with a runner on first with two outs. The lefty generated a ground out to get out of the inning, then got the first two outs of the next inning before the Jays took him out and blew the lead."
"Macko entered Tuesday's game with the Blue Jays trailing 5-3, striking out Jazz Chisholm Jr. for his first big league strikeout. After allowing a single, Macko got a pop out and was replaced, with that runner being stranded on the base. Although Macko attended Vauxhall Academy in Alberta, it was actually the Seattle Mariners that selected the left-handed pitcher in the 2019 draft."
"After parts of four seasons in the organization, where he was often injured, the Mariners sent Macko and big league reliever Erik Swanson to the Blue Jays for Teoscar Henández. It doesn't sound like a great trade, and the Jays probably should have kept the fan-favourite outfielder in hindsight, given that he's now won back-to-back World Series. That said, Hernández didn't have a great season with the Mariners, slashing .258/.305/.436 with 26 home runs in 678 plate appearances, with a 5.6 BB% and 31.1 K%."
"On the other hand, Swanson had a good 2023 season. Serving as the Blue Jays' setup man, the right-handed pitcher finished the season with a 2.97 ERA and 3.51 FIP in 66.2 innings pitched. Unfortunately, Swanson's career derailed from there, beginning the 2024 season on the injured list before struggling mightily and ending up being optioned. There was some hope he could turn it around, as he pitched well over the final two months of the season, but Swanson was released after just si"
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