The New York Yankees did not add to their bullpen at the trade deadline, a decision that looks worse by the day. Setup man Fernando Cruz has a partially torn UCL, manager Aaron Boone declared on Thursday. Surgery is on the table. Either way, Cruz’s season is very likely over. Partial UCL tears come with a lengthy absence, even when surgery isn’t required.
Cruz, 36, has stumbled the last few weeks, including allowing a game-tying two-run home run Tuesday. He has pitched well overall this season, though, including stranding 40 of an MLB-leading 46 inherited runners (87%). The MLB average is a 68% strand rate for inherited runners. Cruz was Boone’s fireman. He’d come into jams and escape. That role is up for grabs now.
Fernando Cruz
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To replace Cruz, the Yankees signed veteran righty Michael Fulmer, who had been released by the Los Angeles Angels this past weekend. The Yankees also called up journeyman Justin Topa earlier in the week. The Yankees are his fourth organization this year. Fulmer and Topa will get an opportunity to stick the rest of the season, not just serve as short-term fill-ins.
“They’re probably going to jump into the deep end,” Boone stated on Thursday (via MLB.com). “It’s that time of year. The reality is, on any given day, they’re going to find themselves in leverage situations.”
New York’s bullpen ranks second in ERA (3.04) and third in expected ERA (3.49) this year, though it is a top-heavy unit. Closer David Bednar and setup men Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick have taken on enormous workloads. Headrick leads baseball in appearances this season (68) and since the All-Star break (21). Blackburn is fourth in appearances in the second half (19).
At the moment, Boone’s bullpen looks like this:
- Closer: RHP David Bednar
- Setup: RHP Paul Blackburn and LHP Brent Headrick
- Lefty matchups: LHP Tim Hill
- Middle: RHP Yerry De Los Santos, RHP Michael Fulmer, and RHP Justin Topa
- Long: RHP Ryan Yarbrough
Cruz (UCL tear) and Kervin Castro (nerve issue in elbow) have what are very likely season-ending injuries. Angel Chivilli (bone spurs in his elbow) is on a throwing program and may return in mid-to-late September. He’s been on and off the injured list all season but had some very good moments for the Yankees during the summer, and looked like a potential mainstay.
The Yankees did not add bullpen help at the deadline and it’s biting them now. If anything, they subtracted from their bullpen at the deadline, trading depth relievers Jake Bird and Yovanny Cruz to the Washington Nationals in the Luis Gárcia Jr. deal. Gárcia has been very productive with the Yankees. They’ve left themselves short in the bullpen, though, for sure.
At this point in the season, the best you can do is add scrap heap types like Fulmer and Topa to your bullpen and hope they give you 10-12 good innings the rest of the way. Adding meaningfully to any part of the roster is basically impossible now that August waiver trades have gone away. With that in mind, here are three possible ways the Yankees can upgrade their relief unit.
Shift starters into a relief role
The Yankees never came out and stated it, though it seemed like this was the plan all along. The Yankees have a very deep and very good rotation. One that, at full health, has more capable starters than rotation spots. The problem is that the rotation is not healthy at the moment, and they can’t shift any starters into the bullpen, at least not yet.
Here is New York’s rotation depth chart at the moment:
- RHP Gerrit Cole
LHP Max Fried(out with bone bruise in elbow)- RHP Cam Schlittler
- LHP Carlos Rodón
LHP Ryan Weathers(out with flexor strain)- RHP Will Warren
- RHP Elmer Rodríguez
- RHP Brendan Beck
Fried is expected back this weekend, which could push Rodríguez into the bullpen. He pitched well in a spot start on Wednesday and it’s hard to argue he’s not one of the 13 best healthy pitchers in the organization right now. The Yankees have a doubleheader this weekend, so Rodríguez is needed in the rotation for at least a few more days. After that, though, he could be bullpen-bound.
The master plan was Cole, Fried, Schlittler, and Rodón in the postseason rotation with Warren and Weathers (and Rodríguez?) in the bullpen. Weathers could return in mid-to-late September — that’s still up in the air — but that’s the dream: that rotation with the other starters in the bullpen. The Yankee just can’t make those moves yet. Warren and Rodríguez are needed as starters.
Gil and Schmidt on the mend
Luis Gil, the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, is working as a reliever in Triple-A after missing roughly four months with a shoulder issue. His fastball has played up in that role, and he could be in line to join the Yankees when rosters expand on Sept. 1. Gil’s effectiveness as a starter has waned since 2024, though there’s a chance he’s a force in a one-inning air-it-out role.
Another injured Yankee, Clarke Schmidt, is also working his way back as a reliever. He’s close to beginning a minor-league rehab assignment following his second career UCL surgery, and could return in mid-September. Schmidt had a 3.07 ERA as a starter from 2024-25, but there’s not enough time left in the season to stretch him out to start, so the Yankees will use him as a reliever.
“Given the time, it’s not like I’m like, ‘I should be starting,’ and banging on the table because I know it’s unrealistic to get to 65, 75 pitches,” Schmidt stated recently (via the New York Daily News). “And if I was to go out in a starting role, I would just be hurting the bullpen at that point. I’m excited to compete. I just want to get back out on the mound and pitch a little bit this year, get on the mound, and get ready for a full season next year.”
The Yankees seem to have Schmidt ahead of Gil in their internal pecking order, but given their need for arms and innings, there’s no reason not to try Gil in the bullpen in the coming days and weeks. Schmidt has bullpen experience. For him, it’s just a matter of getting healthy after a major surgery. With Gil, it’s a matter of showing he can be effective overall and in this role specifically.
The long shot
Earlier this season, the Yankees moved hard-throwing Carlos Lagrange, their top pitching prospect, to the bullpen in Triple-A in preparation for a call-up. Lagrange suffered a shoulder injury a month later, however. He’s on a throwing program and making progress with his rehab. There’s a possibility, albeit a very small one, that Lagrange could join the Yankees in a few weeks.
“(There’s) an outside chance,” pitching coach Matt Blake stated recently about the possibility of Lagrange joining the bullpen in September (via the New York Daily News). “But I don’t think we’re counting on it, necessarily.”
As much as the Yankees need help in the bullpen, pushing Lagrange would be short-sighted. He’s coming off a shoulder injury and is new to the bullpen in general. At this point, the best the Yankees can do is wait for Schmidt and Weathers to get healthy and hope they can move their spare starters in the bullpen in the postseason. It’s a risky plan, but also the only viable plan.
At 75-57, the Yankees are three games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. They’re 2 ½ games up on the Boston Red Sox for the top wild-card spot. The two historic rivals will play four games in three days at Yankee Stadium this weekend.
