Former Greek opposition leader Kasselakis departs left-wing Syriza

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Stefanos Kasselakis, a businessman who burst into Greek politics over a year ago, said he was leaving left-wing Syriza, the country's main opposition party he had led, and forming his own.

Kasselakis announced he was leaving Syriza Friday after a two-day party congress refused to consider his leadership candidacy in a contest that will take place later this month.

Kasselakis, 36, has lived most of his life in the U.S. and only entered Greek politics in May 2023 as a candidate in a national election. Syriza, already the main opposition party, suffered a disastrous double defeat at elections held in May and June of that year. He unexpectedly entered the leadership contest to replace longtime leader Alexis Tsipras and triumphed in September 2023.

His main opponent and several of her supporters bolted the party in December 2023, forming a new organization, New Left. Many of the Syriza members who had supported Kasselakis soon soured on him, accusing him of not being a true leftist. Kasselakis did not endear himself with his confrontational style and open disdain for the elected party organs.

In September, Syriza's central committee ousted Kasselakis from his post after a motion of no confidence. He contested the legitimacy of the vote and was set to run in the leadership race but was stopped by the party's central committee.

Along with Kasselakis, four lawmakers also bolted the party Friday and Saturday. This has left Syriza with 31 lawmakers in the 300-member Greek parliament, equal with the socialist PASOK party.

Under Tsipras, Syriza had governed the country from 2015-2019. Recent opinion polls show party support back into single digits.

Stefanos Kasselakis, front left, a political neophyte who led main opposition SYRIZA party for a year following a stinging election defeat in 2023, is cheered by supporters ahead of an announcement for a new political formation, next to his husband Tyler Mcbeth, in Athens, Greece, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

Stefanos Kasselakis, front left, a political neophyte who led main opposition SYRIZA party for a year following a stinging election defeat in 2023, is cheered by supporters ahead of an announcement for a new political formation, in Athens, Greece, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

Stefanos Kasselakis, center, a political neophyte who led main opposition SYRIZA party for a year following a stinging election defeat in 2023, is cheered by supporters ahead of an announcement for a new political formation, in Athens, Greece, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

Stefanos Kasselakis, center, a political neophyte who led main opposition SYRIZA party for a year following a stinging election defeat in 2023, is cheered by supporters ahead of an announcement for a new political formation, in Athens, Greece, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

Stefanos Kasselakis, center, a political neophyte who led main opposition SYRIZA party for a year following a stinging election defeat in 2023, is cheered by supporters ahead of an announcement for a new political formation, in Athens, Greece, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

Stefanos Kasselakis, center, a political neophyte who led main opposition SYRIZA party for a year following a stinging election defeat in 2023, is cheered by supporters ahead of an announcement for a new political formation, in Athens, Greece, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

Stefanos Kasselakis, center, a political neophyte who led main opposition SYRIZA party for a year following a stinging election defeat in 2023, is cheered by supporters ahead of an announcement for a new political formation, next to his husband Tyler Mcbeth, right, in Athens, Greece, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Weathers was steamed when he found out he was joining the New York Yankees.

“I had had just finished up my bullpen and I get back to the house — I have like a little travel sauna,” he recalled Thursday. “I literally probably had sat on my couch for about two seconds and I got a phone call from Peter Bendix that I had been traded.”

Bendix, Miami's president of baseball operations, sent the 26-year-old left-hander to New York for four prospects on Tuesday: outfielders Brendan Jones and Dillon Lewis, and infielders Dylan Jasso and Juan Matheus.

Weathers is the son of David Weathers, a pitcher who helped the Yankees win the 1996 World Series after he was acquired from the Marlins at the trade deadline.

“We’ve kind of had a weird, similar paths as to how we got to New York,” Ryan Weathers said.

David was in the Dodger Stadium bullpen when he found out two minutes before the trade deadline he had been dealt to the Yankees. Manager Rene Lachemann called him on the bullpen phone and said Weathers needed to speak with general manager Dave Dombrowski.

“I went in the locker room and Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, John Burkett, Robb Nen, they said, `Hey man, good luck. You're going to win a World Series ring,' and they turned out to be prophetic,” David Weathers said.

David learned his son had been traded while watching a basketball game with wife Kelli at Loretto High School in Loretto, Tennessee, where he has coached baseball.

“One of my friends came up and said, `I think Ryan’s been traded to the Yankees.' And I said: `Well, if he has, I hadn’t heard anything about it,'" David recalled. "We laughed, and about that time my phone started ringing. It was Ryan.”

When Ryan makes his Yankees debut, they will become the fifth father-son duo for the pinstripes, joining Yogi and Dale Berra, Clay and Cody Bellinger, Mark Leiter and Mark Leiter Jr., and Ron Davis and Ike Davis.

Ryan was in shock when he spoke with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone.

“I just couldn’t believe that the New York Yankees were a team that I could ever have a chance to play for," he said.

New York’s rotation at the season's start projects to also include Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Luis Gil while Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón rehab from injuries.

Weathers, 26, was 2-2 with a 3.99 ERA in eight starts last year in his second straight injury-shortened season. He missed time with a strained left flexor, made his season debut on May 14, then didn’t pitch for Miami between June 7 and Sept. 11 because of a left lat strain.

He was 5-6 with a 3.63 ERA over 16 starts in 2024, when he was sidelined by a strained left index finger.

“This is the best I’ve probably felt in a year-and-a-half,” Weathers said. “I really did a dive and worked with company on figuring out how to lengthen my lat out, lengthen my back out. We really adjusted a lot of my lifting patterns. We really adjusted my mobility and my prep work, and I think my arm is reaping the benefits right now.”

Ryan grew up in big league clubhouses and remembered the Cincinnati Reds' room with Ken Griffey Jr. and Joey Votto. He played pickle with Dusty Baker, Ramón Hernández, Eric Milton and Juan Castro.

“There’s been a lot of hours put in the Cincinnati Reds' batting cages,” Weathers said. “I just remember Pops taking me to the field every day. I know when his arm was hurting, he’d still throw me BP.”

Ryan was the seventh overall pick by San Diego in the 2008 amateur draft and made his first big league appearance against the Dodgers in the 2020 NL Division Series — among only six players to make a major league debut in the postseason. His dad's knowledge helped him during tough times.

“When I first started going through it and getting adversity and getting traded, he really helped me along those lines of figuring out: This is what you do with your new team. This was what you do in your day-to-day,” Ryan said. “So I’ve been doing mechanics since I was age 10.”

He has remained close with pitcher Aaron Harang, a teammate of his father who last played in 2015.

“He still texts me all the time,” Weathers said. “When I was younger, I didn’t really care about pitching. I just wanted to hit bombs in the outfield, so I didn’t really think about it.”

For David, pitching in the World Series was less nerve-racking than being in the seats at Ryan's games.

“It’s way tougher being a dad and watching your son pitch than being a pitcher,” David said. “When he pitches, man, it is just like all day, it’s like I’m pitching. I’m thinking about what I would do, how I would attack these guys.”

Notes: New York finalized its $2 million, one-year contract with right-hander Paul Blackburn.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

FILE - Miami Marlins starting pitcher Ryan Weathers throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sept. 24, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson, File)