The New York Yankees’ approach to this year’s Major League Baseball trade deadline should be no different from that of plenty of other contenders.
Generally speaking, teams look to improve their roster in the areas it lacks. However, no matter how strong a club’s bullpen is, there is always room for improvement leading up to the postseason. From 2014 to 2015, the Kansas City Royals’ dominant bullpen played a key role in helping them secure back-to-back World Series appearances, culminating in a championship title in 2015.
Is the Yankees’ bullpen as dominant as those Royals teams? Probably not, and close to nobody’s is. Still, even with the emergence of Luke Weaver and the improved play of off-season acquisition Devin Williams, New York could use some flamethrowers for later innings.
Need for Speed
Like last season, one of the biggest complaints New York Yankees fans have about the team is that there are minimal hard-throwing relievers in the bullpen. Weaver averages 94.5 mph on his fastball, and Jonathan Loaisiga averages 96.5 mph on his sinker.
Lefty specialist Tim Hill is more of a groundball, pitch-to-contact hurler, and Fernando Cruz has a 58.7 percent usage rate with his splitter this season.
“Everyone will be in the relief market come the trade deadline, and the Yankees should be no different,” The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty wrote Wednesday. “They have pieced together a strong start from their bullpen, but they could improve by adding a hard-thrower who can handle both sides of the plate and work his way into the eighth- and ninth-inning mix.”
Though the Yankees are without several relievers who throw upwards of 98-100 mph, the production from the bullpen has been one of the best in baseball this season.
“The good: Entering Tuesday, Yankees relievers had combined for a 3.48 ERA â tied for the seventh-best mark in MLB, but within striking distance of the No. 2 Houston Astros (3.28),” wrote Kuty. “Their bullpen arms also had the fourth-best strikeouts per nine innings (9.59), led by Mark Leiter Jr. at 12.8, and they were fourth-best in the majors at stranding runners (76.3 percent).”
Possible Bullpen Trade Candidates for the Yankees
Hypothetically, the New York Yankees could use internal players for more velocity, but the amount of MLB innings they’ve thrown may not be enough of a sample size to trust them in the postseason.
“The Yankees have hard-throwing options at Triple A (Clayton Beeter, Brent Headrick), but they need someone whoâs doing it in the majors,” Kuty explained about why the Yankees should be aggressive in their search for hard-throwing relievers at the trade deadline.
Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals is a free agent at season’s end and averages 99.1 mph on his fastball this year, but may cost a pretty penny to obtain. The Cardinals are also not out of the playoff race, making it that much harder to negotiate.
Former Yankee Aroldis Chapman still throws over 100 mph at 37, but a reunion seems unlikely after New York left him off the 2022 ALDS roster because of a missed team workout.
Finally, Felix Bautista of the Baltimore Orioles could be a name to watch, as the Orioles’ postseason odds continue to dwindle. With a deadly fastball-splitter combination and 38 strikeouts in 27.2 innings, Bautista would fulfill a significant need for the Yankees.
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