The Yankees bullpen has been led by well-known pitchers for a few years now: Between Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton and Chad Green, the Bronx has seen several top relievers take care of the big moments late in the game in recent years.
And that’s not counting Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, Adam Ottavino and Tommy Kahnle, who have all been solid with the Yankees.
On the other hand, when we look at the current situation of relievers in New York, there is still something striking: there is a change of guard that has taken place somewhat silently among Yankees relievers.
While Green underwent Tommy John-type surgery earlier this season, Chapman has completely lost his mind and he’s more of a loot box on the mound than ever. As for Britton, who had just returned to the game after a Tommy John-type operation, he had to leave the game last night after feeling discomfort in his left shoulder.
And today, he was placed on the injured list for 60 days: his season is therefore over.
So that means that the team’s three big relievers in recent years will probably not be in the playoff roster for the Yankees. And since the three will become free agents this winter, we can think that their stay in the Bronx will end in the coming weeks.
Earlier this year, it was Clay Holmes and Michael King who took on the bulk of the reliever duties. However, the first has been unrecognizable for a few weeks (and he also has a shoulder injury, but is likely to be restored for the playoffs) while the second saw his season end earlier this summer.
Not ideal, all that.
The question, then, is who will be Aaron Boone’s trusted relievers in the playoffs? As of today, there are probably five that stand out, but clearly, they’re not the usual suspects.
Unless you follow the Yankees on a regular basis, you’ll probably be surprised to learn that the big relievers on the team right now are Scott Effross, Lou Trivino, Jonathan Loaisiga, Ron Marinaccio and Wandy Peralta.
And when you look, you’re not necessarily talking about guys who have a particularly impressive track record: Effross and Marinaccio are rookies, Trivino was terrible in Oakland at the start of the season before dominating in the Bronx, Loaisiga recovered after a horrible start to the season and Peralta hadn’t broken anything before coming to the Bronx in the summer of 2021.
That said, for the past few weeks, they have been solid and they are the best relievers on the team. A return to full form from Clay Holmes would be daunting, but until he has shown that he is dominant again, he will not be used in big situations.
Otherwise, you could see guys like Domingo German, Lucas Luetge and Clarke Schmidt, who can throw more than one inning, being used in less important moments of the game. Frankie Montas, who is most likely to return during the Championship Series, could also be an option.
But clearly, having the bullpen contain so many question marks will put a lot of pressure on the quartet of starters, which will almost certainly be Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes Jr., Luis Severino and Jameson Taillon. The guys will have to give big innings to reduce the pressure on a fairly fragile bullpen.
It will therefore be a big management job for Aaron Boone, who will have to trust unsuspected relievers in the important moments of his team’s playoff journey. It is up to him to find the best way to optimize the work of each of his gunners.
