It wasn’t the lopsided score that raised eyebrows; Yankees fans have seen ugly losses before. It was the timing, the optics, and, most of all, the message it sent. Saturday night in Los Angeles wasn’t just an 18–2 loss to the Dodgers; it felt like a managerial unraveling in real time. The Yankees were already buried under a pile of home runs and missed opportunities. But when Aaron Boone summoned another reliever in the ninth, fans sat up not because it could change the game, but because of who he brought in.
Enter Luke Weaver. The $2 million right-hander, curiously benched in tighter, more winnable spots earlier in the week, was suddenly asked to pitch mop-up duty in a game that was already a lost cause. Just days prior, Boone refused to use Weaver in a four-run game against the Angels. But now, against a team like the Dodgers, who famously torched the Yankees in Game 1 of last year’s World Series, he sends Weaver into an 18–2 disaster? The contradiction left fans confused, angry, and demanding answers.
“If you need him to get work, put him in, have him throw a simulated game the next day,” Brian McKeon ranted on the Locked on Yankees podcast. “Why is he coming in an 18–2 game against the Dodgers? Why would you do that to the guy? None of it makes any sense…” He continued, “Boone has no rhyme or reason. He’s doing things on a whim, picking guys out of the rotation of who he wants to throw in at what day.”
Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
And the backdrop makes this sting even more. Remember last October? Boone pulled Weaver in the 10th inning of Game 1, only to hand the ball to a cold Nestor Cortes, who hadn’t pitched in over a month. The result? A walk-off grand slam by Freddie Freeman and a gut-wrenching Yankees loss. Saturday’s bullpen confusion felt eerily familiar, and equally inexcusable.
Fans aren’t asking for perfection. They’re asking for consistency. For logic. For Boone to stop treating the bullpen like a shuffleboard. When a $2 million arm like Weaver is mismanaged this badly. First underused, then overexposed, it calls into question more than just the night’s box score. It puts the whole bullpen strategy under a microscope. And here’s the kicker: this wasn’t just about Weaver. It was about trust. The manager’s trust in his players and the fans’ trust in their manager. Right now? Both feel paper-thin.
Aaron Boone calls on Weaver, then trouble strikes
It was supposed to be a clean finish to a signature win. The Yankees were up 7–3 on the Dodgers Sunday night, the Bronx buzzing, and Boone dialed up his top reliever, Weaver, to seal it. But just as Weaver was stretching after warming up in the bullpen, something didn’t feel right. Tightness in his hamstring flared up, sidelining him before he even stepped on the mound. What should’ve been a routine ninth inning turned into another layer of concern about how Boone is managing his bullpen.
Now, here’s where the spotlight shines. Weaver, who signed a $2 million deal to become a high-leverage weapon, has been used in wildly inconsistent spots this season. Just one night earlier, Boone called on him during an 18–2 blowout, a move that raised eyebrows given the low-stakes situation. Fast forward to Sunday, and he’s suddenly warming up to close against the Dodgers? The shift from mop-up duty to fireman role isn’t just odd, it’s risky. These are the patterns that raise questions about pitcher readiness and workload stress. Even more, especially for someone who’s thrown nearly 85 high-leverage innings already this year.
Boone addressed the postgame scare, telling reporters, “We’re hoping it’s not too serious, but (Weaver) felt it when he was stretching.” That’s fair, but it doesn’t answer the deeper issue. Why was Weaver used so casually the night before, only to be counted on again in a tight spot? Relievers live by rhythm and role clarity, and when that gets scrambled, so can a pitcher’s health.
For a bullpen that’s already seen its share of instability, Aaron Boone’s decision-making isn’t just drawing criticism, it might now be costing them arms at the worst possible time.
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