The New York Yankee ship isn’t sinking just yet. But let’s just say that it’s been taking on water pretty fast. A team that was once on top of the AL East has now slipped to third place. They are trailing behind the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. They sure are a solid 48-40 on the season, but this downward spiral feels like deja vu. Remember last season’s World Series collapse to the Dodgers?
The fundamentals were wrong, the bullpen was a mess, and the defensive errors were huge. So it feels like deja vu. And speaking of heartbreak, this one sure is for the history books- turns out that Yankees relievers have taken the loss in each of the last five games.
Now, according to Katie Sharp from Stathead, this is the first time in the franchise’s history that this has happened. That is over a century of baseball records! Somehow, this bullpen managed to make the wrong kind of history. So, where do they go from here?
Image credit- MLB.com
ESPN’s Jeff Passan mentioned two names that are gaining serious buzz as the trade deadline comes to a close. Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians and Jhoan Duran of the Twins. Passan mentioned, “Emmanuel Clase last year was the best reliever in all of baseball, and Cleveland’s the sort of team that takes advantage of soft markets. Minnesota? Same thing with Jhoan Duran—he’s firing up to 102 miles an hour with a nasty splitter.” Think of these two players as the life-savers for the Yankee bullpen.
Clase, despite a slow April, has been great since May. He posted a 1.13 ERA over 24 innings. He is not just good; he is nasty. But would the Guardians, who are only five games out of the wild card spot, trade a player like him? Well, maybe more so because he is under team control till 2028 and they have Cade Smith on the wings waiting, so there is not much reason to hold back.
Duran, meanwhile, is also pure fire, and his 1.1.69 ERA and 102-mph fastball make him one of the most intimidating arms in the game today. But of course, he won’t come cheap; it only depends on whether the New York Yankees will be ready to pony up for this. Because get this—no matter how elite the offense is (hello, Judge), it doesn’t matter if the bullpen keeps blowing leads.
The deadline is fast approaching, and if they want to be in contention, they need to do a reshuffle soon!
New York Yankees reliever feels the heat as defense falters
So, it’s no secret that the Yankees are in a rough patch and the bullpen is under fire. But if there is one player who is caught in the thick of it, it is Mark Leiter Jr. He started the year like a sleeper star. By the end of May, he was doing good, with a 2.28 ERA and was punching out the batters. It felt like the Yankees found their setup guy behind Luke Weaver. But then everything changed.
Since May 30, Leiter’s ERA has rocketed to 9.90, and that has put him in some rather unfortunate company. He is the 20th worst out of 439 pitchers who have thrown at least five innings in that timespan. And his WHIP has been equally brutal. So naturally, the fingers are pointed at him. But here is an interesting fact—the condition of the Yanks might not be just because of him.
Even more alarming is the fact that Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric shows that when Leiter takes the mound, the defense behind him has recorded -10 OAA. This is the worst in the majors for any pitcher this season. And sure, the Yanks have Gold Glove guys like Judge and LeMahieu, but as a unit, they are sloppy at best. As a team, they have been tied for the eighth-fewest OAA at -7. So yes, all of Leiter’s stuff might still be good; his FIP of 2.58 suggests that he has been way better than this.
So the bottom line is that the Yankees are struggling and need to make the best use of the trade deadline to bring in reinforcements. If October or even the World Series is in their mind.
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