# Luke Weaver
**Luke Weaver** (Luke Allen Weaver, nicknamed "Dream"; born 1993 in [DeLand, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/deland-florida)) is an American professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. A first-round draft pick who spent most of his first eight seasons as a struggling starting pitcher, he rebuilt his career after the [New York Yankees](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-yankees) claimed him off waivers in 2023 and converted him to a full-time reliever, becoming one of the game's most effective bullpen arms in 2024.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / drafted | 1993, DeLand, FL; drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round (27th overall) of the 2014 draft out of Florida State University[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) |
| MLB debut | August 13, 2016, with the Cardinals[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) |
| Breakout (2024) | 7-3, 2.89 ERA, 103 strikeouts in 84.0 innings over 62 relief appearances for the Yankees; four saves[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) |
| 2024 postseason | 1-0 with four saves and a 1.76 ERA in 15.1 innings across 12 appearances, including the World Series[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) |
| 2025 split | 1.05 ERA before a left hamstring strain placed him on the injured list June 1; 5.31 ERA after returning[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) |
| Later moves | Signed by the Mets (two years, $22 million, December 2025); traded to the Pirates for shortstop Sammy Stafura on August 3, 2026[2](https://www.amazinavenue.com/new-york-mets-analysis/88583/mets-analysis-luke-weaver-signing-grade-yankees-bullpen) • [1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) |
| Career (through 2026) | 330 games, 42-50 record, 4.58 ERA, 783.1 innings, 811 strikeouts[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) |
## Early career as a starter
Weaver spent three seasons at [Florida State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/florida-state-university) (2012-14), going 16-6 with a 3.04 ERA and 244 strikeouts in 49 games (37 starts), and was named 2014 First Team All-ACC and a Third Team Collegiate Baseball All-American[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133). The Cardinals selected him 27th overall in the 2014 draft and signed him for $1,843,000[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) • [3](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/7248-luke-weaver/). As a prospect he was regarded as a pitcher with a simple, clean delivery, a fastball in the mid-to-high 90s, and a wipeout changeup as a finishing pitch[4](https://www.mlb.com/news/scouting-profile-on-cardinals-luke-weaver/c-155790850).
He debuted with St. Louis on August 13, 2016, and pitched for the Cardinals through 2018, then for the [Arizona Diamondbacks](https://www.edgepedia.org/arizona-diamondbacks) (2019-22) and [Kansas City Royals](https://www.edgepedia.org/kansas-city-royals) (2022). His 2018 season was his fullest as a starter, 7-11 with a 4.95 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 30 games (25 starts)[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133). Injuries limited him in other years: right forearm tightness in 2019 and a strained right shoulder in 2021, when he made only 13 starts[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133). In 2022 he moved primarily to the bullpen for the first time, going 1-1 with a 6.56 ERA in one start and 25 relief appearances between Arizona and Kansas City[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133).
The 2023 season effectively ended his run as a starter. He signed with [Cincinnati](https://www.edgepedia.org/cincinnati), went 2-4 with a 6.87 ERA in 21 starts, was designated for assignment in August, finished the year with Seattle, and was claimed off waivers by the Yankees from the Mariners on September 12, 2023[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133). Across 2016-2022 he had pitched to a 4.79 ERA with the Cardinals, D-backs, and Royals[5](https://www.mlb.com/news/free-agent-reliever-luke-weaver-could-be-underrated-signing).
## Conversion to relief and the 2024 breakout
The Yankees signed Weaver to a one-year Major League contract for 2024 with a club option for 2025, and converted him to a full-time reliever[6](https://www.mlb.com/yankees/press-release/press-release-yankees-sign-rhp-luke-weaver) • [5](https://www.mlb.com/news/free-agent-reliever-luke-weaver-could-be-underrated-signing). The conversion, which also came with a reinvented, minimalist delivery, was highly successful: from the move to the bullpen through early 2025 he compiled a 2.46 ERA and 3.26 FIP over 109 2/3 innings[7](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/luke-weavers-sore-hamstring-trips-up-yankees-bullpen/).
In 2024 he went 7-3 with four saves and a 2.89 ERA in 62 appearances (84.0 innings, 103 strikeouts, 10 home runs allowed), holding opponents to a .176 batting average[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133). His 103 strikeouts were the most by a Yankees reliever in a single season since [Dellin Betances](https://www.edgepedia.org/dellin-betances) in 2018, and he ranked third among Major League relievers in innings pitched[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133). He recorded four or more outs in 31 of his 62 outings, the fourth-most among Major League relievers[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133).
**Postseason closer.** After 13 blown saves ended Clay Holmes' run as the Yankees' closer, Weaver took over the ninth-inning role in September 2024 and finished the regular season 4-for-4 in save chances[8](https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-weaver-leading-yankees-bullpen-into-2024-alds). In his first career postseason he went 1-0 with four saves and a 1.76 ERA in 15.1 innings over 12 appearances, allowing no runs in 10 of them[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133). Weaver made baseball history by notching four saves across his first five career playoff appearances, a feat no Yankees pitcher had achieved before and one reached by only five other major leaguers.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) His postseason work ran on a fastball-changeup mix[9](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/luke-weaver-2024-postseason-success-breakdown.html), and he gave up just one hit across his four [World Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-series) appearances[7](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/luke-weavers-sore-hamstring-trips-up-yankees-bullpen/). The Yankees lost the World Series to the Dodgers in five games; in the Game 5 collapse, Lux and Betts hit sacrifice flies off Weaver to give Los Angeles a 7-6 lead[10](https://apnews.com/article/ff3ca215e6064c1983e4cce4f41a97e0).
The Yankees exercised his 2025 option, worth $2.5 million, on November 1, 2024[11](https://as.com/us/mlb/new-york-yankees-confirman-a-su-primer-refuerzo-tras-perder-la-serie-mundial-n/).
## 2025: injury and decline
Weaver carried his form into 2025, taking over as the Yankees' closer in late April after [Devin Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/devin-williams-baseball) was removed from the role, and pitching to a 1.05 ERA (3 earned runs in 25.2 innings) with 24 strikeouts before a left hamstring strain placed him on the 15-day injured list on June 1[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) • [7](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/luke-weavers-sore-hamstring-trips-up-yankees-bullpen/). He was activated on June 20, about three weeks later, and was not the same afterward: he posted a 5.31 ERA the rest of the way, with ERAs of 7.15 in July and 9.64 in September[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) • [5](https://www.mlb.com/news/free-agent-reliever-luke-weaver-could-be-underrated-signing). He was charged with five runs without recording an out over his first two playoff outings against the Red Sox and Blue Jays[5](https://www.mlb.com/news/free-agent-reliever-luke-weaver-could-be-underrated-signing).
Underlying indicators were better than the surface numbers. His expected ERA, opponents' expected batting average, expected weighted on-base average, and chase rate were all better in 2025 than in his career-best 2024[5](https://www.mlb.com/news/free-agent-reliever-luke-weaver-could-be-underrated-signing). He finished the season with a career-high 64 relief appearances, holding batters to a .195 average and recording 72 strikeouts[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133).
## Mets, Pirates, and 2026
Weaver elected free agency on November 2, 2025, and the [New York Mets](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-mets) signed him on December 22, 2025, to a two-year, $22 million contract as part of a bullpen revamp[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133) • [2](https://www.amazinavenue.com/new-york-mets-analysis/88583/mets-analysis-luke-weaver-signing-grade-yankees-bullpen).
On August 3, 2026, the Mets traded Weaver and cash to the [Pittsburgh Pirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh-pirates) for shortstop Sammy Stafura; the Pirates activated him the next day[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133). He was part of a heavily rebuilt [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh) bullpen that also added Camilo Doval, Lake Bachar, and Kirby Yates[12](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/pirates-add-a-whole-new-bullpen-camilo-doval-luke-weaver-lake-bachar-kirby-yates/). Across 60 appearances in 2026 he went 4-1 with a 2.69 ERA, 60.1 innings, 65 strikeouts, and a 0.96 WHIP[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133).
## Pitching style
Weaver is a 6-foot-2 right-hander who throws right-handed and bats right-handed[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133). His effectiveness as a reliever rests on a fastball-changeup combination; as a starter he was at one point truly and strictly a fastball/changeup pitcher, with only five starters in baseball throwing fewer breaking balls[13](https://www.mlb.com/news/cardinals-luke-weaver-uses-throwback-delivery-c268432446). His 2024 reinvention included a minimalist windup and reworked mechanics[7](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/luke-weavers-sore-hamstring-trips-up-yankees-bullpen/).
## References
1. [Luke Weaver Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/player/luke-weaver-596133)
2. [Grading the Mets' Luke Weaver signing, Amazin' Avenue](https://www.amazinavenue.com/new-york-mets-analysis/88583/mets-analysis-luke-weaver-signing-grade-yankees-bullpen)
3. [Luke Weaver Stats & Scouting Report, Baseball America](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/7248-luke-weaver/)
4. [Scouting profile: Luke Weaver, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/scouting-profile-on-cardinals-luke-weaver/c-155790850)
5. [Free agent reliever Luke Weaver could be underrated signing, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/free-agent-reliever-luke-weaver-could-be-underrated-signing)
6. [Press release: Yankees sign RHP Luke Weaver, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/yankees/press-release/press-release-yankees-sign-rhp-luke-weaver)
7. [Luke Weaver's Sore Hamstring Trips Up Yankees Bullpen, FanGraphs](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/luke-weavers-sore-hamstring-trips-up-yankees-bullpen/)
8. [Weaver ready for high-leverage role in playoffs after dominant September, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-weaver-leading-yankees-bullpen-into-2024-alds)
9. [Luke Weaver has become one of best relievers in 2024 MLB playoffs, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/luke-weaver-2024-postseason-success-breakdown.html)
10. [Yankees blow 5-run lead with epic defensive meltdown as Dodgers rally to clinch World Series, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/ff3ca215e6064c1983e4cce4f41a97e0)
11. [Los Yankees confirman a su primer refuerzo, tras perder la Serie Mundial, Diario AS](https://as.com/us/mlb/new-york-yankees-confirman-a-su-primer-refuerzo-tras-perder-la-serie-mundial-n/)
12. [Pirates Add a Whole New Bullpen: Camilo Doval, Luke Weaver, Lake Bachar, Kirby Yates, FanGraphs](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/pirates-add-a-whole-new-bullpen-camilo-doval-luke-weaver-lake-bachar-kirby-yates/)
13. [Cardinals' Luke Weaver uses throwback delivery, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/cardinals-luke-weaver-uses-throwback-delivery-c268432446)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Professional baseball in the Americas › MLB players and personnel biographies › Relief pitchers and closers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license