Yankees Should Probably Avoid Massive $90 Million Risk

The New York Yankees are definitely facing some potential bullpen problems heading into the winter, as five of their key relievers could possibly sign elsewhere.

David Bednar, Paul Blackburn, Ryan Yarbrough, Tim Hill and John Schreiber are all slated to hit free agency, leaving the Yankees with quite a late-inning conundrum.

So could New York attack the open market for relief pitching itself?

One potential option is Adrian Morejon, who is coming off of a brilliant season with the San Diego Padres in which he pitched to the tune of a 2.83 ERA and 11.2 K/9.

Just 27 years old, Morejon is entering the prime of his career and has posted three consecutive terrific seasons for the Padres, making the All-Star team in 2025.

But is Morejon what the Yankees need?

Obviously, any team would be lucky to have such a dominant reliever at the back end of its bullpen, but cost is the problem.

Morejon is expected to command a massive contract this offseason, with Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently projecting the left-hander to bag a five-year, $90 million contract. That comes out to an average of $18 million annually.

That's a whole lot for a pitcher who tosses less than 100 innings a year, especially when said pitcher is not even a a closer.

Essentially, the Yankees would be replacing Bednar with Morejon in this scenario. It seems incredibly unlikely that they would re-sign Bednar to close and sign Morejon in the process.

And that probably isn't worth it.

New York would be paying more money for a guy who has never actually been a closer before, so you really don't know how that would work out in the Bronx.

Plus, $90 million for a reliever is generally always too much.

The Yankees know more than most about how lucrative long-term deals for relief pitchers can backfire. See: Aroldis Chapman.

Hal Steinbrenner is closely monitoring the payroll as it is. He has made that clear, and with a salary cap likely on the way, Steinbrenner might become even more frugal.

One area in which New York has always excelled is piecing together strong bullpens without having to splurge. It's the same reason why I question if the Yanks will even re-sign Bednar, who was terrific for the club in 2026.

The Yankees need to spend money on bats. They shouldn't be dropping nearly $100 million on one reliever, so Morejon should probably be off limits in the Bronx.