Dylan Coleman made his season debut with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on April 24th against the Rochester Red Wings at PNC Field in northeastern Pennsylvania. It was more than a debut, however — it was also a comeback. The 29-year-old relief pitcher stepped away from the game after being released early last season by the Baltimore Orioles organization.
“Same cycle there for a while, so I think it was really beneficial to step away,” Coleman said. “It was never taking time off to be done; I knew I was going to come back. It was a mental break. You go through so much stuff through a season and I’ve been at it for seven, eight years now. Just finding that little break was really good.”
Drafted out of Missouri State University by the San Diego Padres in 2018 in the fourth round (111st overall), he reached Double-A in the Padres organization before being traded to the Kansas City Royals on November 5, 2020. He reached Triple-A with the Omaha Storm Chasers in 2021 before the Royals called him up in September of that season. He made his major-league debut September 21, 2021 at Cleveland, pitching a scoreless seventh inning with one hit in a 4-1 loss.
He split time over the next two seasons between Omaha and Kansas City before being traded to the Houston Astros on December 6, 2023. He appeared in one game with the Astros in April 2024, then spent the rest of the season at Triple-A Sugar Land before being released on August 9th.
Baltimore signed him in February 2025 and he appeared in 11 games with the Double-A Chesapeake Baysox (6) and Triple-A Norfolk Tides (5). On May 14th against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, he allowed five runs on five hits and two walks in one inning. Two days later, he was released.
During his time away, he worked with a trainer on his mechanics. He had some teams, including the Yankees, come watch him throw a session. He planned to hold a pro day the following week, but the Yankees really liked what they saw and signed him January 17th.
“I thought it was a really good fit,” Coleman said. “Obviously I heard good things about (their) development and stuff.”
In spring training, Coleman had something flare up in his shoulder area that set him back a bit. Then he had to build himself back up and, as a result, started the season on the seven-day injured list. He was activated April 21st and made his season debut three days later.
He entered the game in the seventh inning and got thrown right into the fire. The first Rochester batter he faced, Phillip Glassner, grounded his first pitch to first baseman Ernesto Martinez Jr. Coleman had to cover the bag and take the throw for the out.
“I’ll take first-pitch outs all day,” Coleman said. “But he hit it over there, I finished the pitch and was like ‘I’d better get to first.’”
Coleman struck out the next batter he faced, Red Wings leadoff batter Christian Franklin. He walked the next batter, Dylan Crews. Yohandy Morales then reached on an infield single and a throwing error on the play put runners at second and third. But Coleman stranded them when he got Abimelec Ortiz to ground out to Martinez at first and end the inning.
After not pitching in a game for almost a year — 345 days to be exact — Coleman said it felt good to be back on the mound.
“Obviously got some time in spring training, but it was great to be back out there,” he said.
RailRiders manager Shelley Duncan agreed. He believes Coleman can be a key component in the bullpen.
“I see him as a one-inning guy right now, but as he gets comfortable out there, at his best he’s a high-leverage pitcher,” Duncan said. “He’s got really good stuff. I’ve seen him at his best in the big leagues on the other side of the dugout where he’s absolutely filthy. He’s got it in him to be that person again and I look forward to seeing it. He’s a worker.”
That bullpen has the fourth-best earned-run average in Triple-A at 3.83 and the fewest walks with 49. It has collected nine wins and five saves.
“You’ve been seeing a lot this year, any time we’re behind, as far as the bullpen goes, we know if we can put up some zeroes and give our hitters more opportunity, we’re really at any game at any point,” Coleman said.
All but one of Coleman’s 97 games in the major leagues came in relief. His lone start was came as an opener August 11, 2024 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He worked one hitless and scoreless inning with three walks and a hit batsman. His MLB record is 5-4, with a 3.84 ERA, 21 holds and 100 strikeouts in 93.2 innings.
Among his fondest memories is pitching for the Royals in Yankee Stadium.
“All the history and atmosphere that comes with the Yankees and the stadium and the fans are super into it,” Coleman said. “It was a cool experience.”