The trade deadline was underwhelming for the Yankees. Failure to land a catcher was thought to be the biggest mistake, but it’s now clear that not acquiring a reliever was the true miss.
Though the Yankees were rumored to pursue Mason Miller or Adrian Morejon from the San Diego Padres, no deal was made. Left without a backup plan in sight, they left empty-handed, forcing overworked relievers to hold up has finally taken its toll on the Bronx’s bullpen.
This past week, 36-year-old Fernando Cruz suffered a partial UCL tear, which doesn’t rule out Tommy John surgery. The high-leverage arm was on pace to pitch a career high in both games and innings. Cruz was having an exceptional year, posting a 3.13 ERA, but now his season is over.
The neglect to reinforce the bullpen now looks more foolish by the day. They subtracted by trading away relievers Jake Bird, Yovanny Cruz, and Camilo Doval. Now, with the loss of Cruz, an overworked bullpen has to push itself even more.
The Bullpen Is Overworked
The Yankees bullpen has been the one guarantee all season. With an injury-riddled offense missing its biggest sluggers and a rotation that hasn’t been fully healthy all year, the bullpen has been the one reliable unit.
They currently hold the best ERA in the majors. A huge part of this success is the heavy reliance on Cruz, Paul Blackburn, Brent Headrick, and closer David Bednar. With the offense being so anemic since the All-Star break, the Yankees are forced to use them to preserve close leads almost every game.
Headrick and Blackburn have endured enormous workloads. Headrick leads baseball in both total appearances (70) and second-half appearances (23). The resurgence of Blackburn has earned him a spot in the circle of trust and fourth in appearances since the All-Star break.
The hyper-usage has shown its effects. Headrick, who has just been phenomenal, has finally hit a roadblock. In August, he has an ERA of almost five in 15 games.
This overuse has already taken down one arm, and they can’t afford to lose another one. So, the Yankees have been scrambling to find a replacement.
Yankees Are in Survival Mode
The Yankees didn’t reinforce their bullpen because of their philosophy of having arms in-house to fix any issues. The problem is that those arms aren’t ready or are injured.
Clarke Schmidt, who has been recovering from Tommy John surgery, made his first rehab appearance on Saturday. The Yankees are aiming for a mid-September reunion with Schmidt. Flamethrower Carlos Lagrange was being transitioned into the bullpen but got shut down for six weeks at the start of July.
The option to move Ryan Weathers into a reliever has gone sideways as he suffered a left forearm flexor strain. Manager Aaron Boone has given Weathers a timeframe of two to four weeks of no throwing. This has left the Yankees scrapping the bottom of the barrel to find journeymen to fill spots.
After Cruz got sidelined, the Yankees signed former Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer. Fulmer, 33, joined his third team this season and threw a clean inning of work against the Houston Astros.
Then they signed 35-year-old Justin Topa on August 14. He was called up this past week and pitched three innings until he was DFA’d on Sunday to make room for another former Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil.
Can Luis Gil Salvage the Bullpen
Gil, a starter trying to find his old self in the minors, is the latest option to help. Since his breakout in 2024, Gil hasn’t returned to his peak performance because of injury.
Gil has the tools to transition into a solid reliever in the Bronx successfully. Nobody has doubted his arm talent since he arrived. An arm that can throw upper-90s for one inning is intriguing, but can he be effective at the MLB level again?
In Triple-A this year, he has nine innings of relief, posting a three ERA while striking out 12. Gil’s concern is still his walks. An issue that has followed him throughout his entire career. Before being sent down, he had more walks (11) than strikeouts (9). In the minors, he has almost walked a batter per inning, with seven.
He won’t fill the shoes of Cruz but can definitely be a solid middle reliever for the time being. He isn’t the type to protect a one-run lead, yet he will have to, given how little scoring the Yankees have done the past few months.
Gil is the Yankees’ last hope in their plan to restore a fatigued bullpen before the reinforcements arrive.
The Yankees’ Grand Plan Has Blown Up
This ongoing issue stems from the Yankees front office’s gamble. The plan originated clearly in the offseason. Once Devin Williams and Luke Weaver both signed with the cross-town rival Mets, the Yankees created a rotation that would be so dominant they could turn shift-backline starters into relievers when needed.
With a rotation that has had its setbacks with staying healthy, that surplus of starters isn’t an option anymore. The Yankees had to know that trusting Weathers to stay healthy until October would be questionable. He never threw over 100 innings in his career and has thrown over 135 up until the forearm strain. They were lucky he lasted until the end of August.
Secondly, the team knew Schmidt wouldn’t be back until September. Gil was the odd man out when Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon returned because he was the only one with options left. However, Gil suffered an injury that sidelined him for three months, keeping him from arriving in the Bronx sooner.
This has now left a team worth $338 million to find journeymen in the middle of a playoff race. It’s not unacceptable given how steady the bullpen has been, but it’s more baffling to fans than anything.
The level of production the bullpen has gotten from Blackburn, Headrick, and Bednar makes the possibility of any of them going down a nightmare. The drop-off in talent from those three in the relief depth chart is frightening. The team goes from three of the best to Tim Hill, Ryan Yarbrough, Fulmer, and Gil.
The Yankees better hope the likes of Schmidt, Weathers, and potentially Will Warren are great assets in the bullpen when ready. If not, the decision not to add another reliever could loom large in the playoffs.
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