The New York Yankees clearly dropped the ball here.
The New York Yankees opted not to really do much work on their bullpen in the offseason, allowing both Devin Williams and Luke Weaver to walk in free agency without finding adequate replacements.
The Yankees did swing a trade with the Colorado Rockies to acquire Angel Chivilli, but they sent him down to Triple-A after he got rocked in Spring Training.
Otherwise, New York has been relying on the trade deadline acquisitions it landed last summer — David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird — plus Fernando Cruz, Tim Hill and Brent Headrick.
Needless to say, it hasn't worked.
While Cruz and Hill have both been effective, Bednar has been incredibly shaky in the ninth inning, Doval has regularly gotten shelled and Bird? Well, the Yankees have demoted him to Triple-A for the second time since trading for him.
Remember: last year, New York sent down Bird after just three appearances. This season, he made a grand total of eight trips to the mound before the Yanks decided to demote him. Most recently, he allowed three runs on four hits — including a home run — against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
So, what do the Yankees do now?
New York Yankees pitcher Jake Bird. Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.Obviously, this bullpen is a significant problem. They don't have a shutdown closer, and the bridge to the ninth inning is heavily dependent on Cruz and Hill, neither of whom can pitch every single game.
Sure, Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn are decent arms, but they are both more long relief/emergency options than anything else.
New York really can't afford to wait until the trade deadline at this point. Brian Cashman needs to try and make some moves now, or else the bullpen is going to blow even more games than last year.
I suppose the Yankees can always try to call up Yovanny Cruz, who shined in brief Spring Training action and has also looked really good in Triple-A this season. Cruz not being on the 40-man roster right now complicates that, though. Yerry De Los Santos is an option, too.
The problem is that neither of those pitchers are proven commodities, so New York might just end up back at square one if it turns to either of them.
Cashman absolutely should have addressed the bullpen over the winter. Instead, he opted to rely on bounce-back campaigns from guys like Doval and Bird. That was apparently a major mistake.
The Yankees need to fix this glaring issue now before it's too late.
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