Chenango Valley’s Justin Topa One Step From Yankees Pinstripes After Wild Season

A name is showing up in Yankees news that many people in the Southern Tier will recognize. Justin Topa, a Chenango Valley High School graduate, is on the verge of pulling on Yankee pinstripes.

Chenango Valley Grad Justin Topa Set for Yankees Debut

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees are planning to call up the right-handed reliever ahead of a three-game series against the Houston Astros that opens Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. It would be his first time pitching in a Yankees uniform, which is the kind of moment you hope every local kid who ever picked up a baseball gets to have. The move isn't official just yet. MLB Trade Rumors notes Topa isn't currently on the 40-man roster, so New York still has some paperwork to sort out before he can actually take the mound.

A Long Road Back to the Big Leagues for the Chenango Valley Native

What gets me about this one is the timing. This has been a rough season for Topa on paper. He started the year with the Minnesota Twins and didn't last long there, and MLB Trade Rumors reports he then bounced through minor league stops with the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays before the Yankees finally gave him a shot and sent him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

That's not exactly a straight line to The Bronx. But once he landed with the RailRiders, he pitched well enough to get noticed, and Pinstripe Alley reports he closed out August strong, including a solid two-inning outing against the Charlotte Knights right before word of the call-up broke. For a guy who's already had a full career in the majors with the Brewers, Mariners and Twins, clawing his way back through three different organizations in one summer says a lot about wanting it.

Why the Yankees Need Topa Right Now

None of this is happening in a vacuum. The Yankees have been dealing with injuries, including Ryan Weathers landing on the injured list and Giancarlo Stanton's calf trouble flaring back up, and MLB Trade Rumors reports the team will likely need to shuffle the roster to make room for Topa. It's not a glamorous reason to get the call, but a call is a call, and for a Southern Tier kid, this is the one that matters.

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A Chenango Valley High School graduate who was drafted all the way back in 2013, Topa has already put together a solid big league career. Now he's on the doorstep of doing it in pinstripes, against the Astros, in front of a Yankee Stadium crowd. Whether this stint lasts a week or the rest of the season, it's worth pausing to appreciate. Not many guys from our corner of New York get to say the Yankees came calling.