PHILADELPHIA - The Yankees may have won Friday night with pitching all over the place, but the conversation around their bullpen is still drifting toward one name: Mason Miller.
That’s the kind of deadline buzz that follows a team with a real October chance. And after Aaron Boone watched his club grind out a 1-0 win over the Phillies, he had plenty to like about the arms already in house - especially David Bednar, who keeps looking more and more like a shutdown closer.
The game itself was a showcase. Cam Schlittler carved through a strong Phillies lineup with 12 strikeouts and no walks over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits. On the other side, Jesus Luzardo was nearly as sharp, holding the Yankees to Paul Goldschmidt’s solo homer and two singles over seven innings with nine strikeouts and one walk.
The only real danger for New York came in the eighth, when the Phillies loaded the bases with one out. Brent Headrick bailed them out in style, getting Trea Turner on a liner to left field and then Kyle Schwarber on a 3-2 grounder to Jazz Chisholm.
That set up Bednar, and he finished the job without any drama. He ran through the Phillies’ 3-4-5 hitters in order, striking out Bryce Harper, getting Brandon Marsh on a deep fly to left and inducing a routine grounder from Alec Bohm.
It was another clean night for a reliever who has turned his season around. Bednar has now gone 22.2 consecutive scoreless innings over his last 19 appearances, a stretch that includes three wins and eight saves.
After opening his first full Yankees season with a 5.14 ERA through May 18, he’s settled into a much different rhythm. His ERA is down to 2.47, and he’s converted 19 of 21 save chances.
“I feel like all the best stuff’s been pretty good throughout the year,” Bednar said. “I’m just doing a better job of attacking guys.
I have confidence in all three of my pitches. I’ve been able in the zone and have success.”
The Yankees don’t exactly have a bullpen problem right now. Their 3.04 ERA leads the majors, and the group has been getting major contributions from Paul Blackburn, Headrick and Bednar. Tim Hill has been one of the best left-on-left relievers in the game, and Fernando Cruz can be nearly untouchable when his splitter is working in the strike zone.
Still, the trade deadline always pushes teams toward more pitching, and Miller is the kind of arm that changes the conversation. The Padres’ closer has been absurd this season: 26 saves in 26 chances, a 0.84 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 42.2 innings. He also hit 104 mph on the radar gun and averaged 101 mph with his fastball, then shut down Miami with a 1-2-3 ninth in Friday’s 4-2 Padres win.
If the Yankees do go after him, Bednar might be the player on the roster who knows him best. The two are both from Pittsburgh, are friends and played together for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic last spring.
“Yeah, I know Mason really well,” Bednar said. “Really good dude.
I throw with him in the offseason. His fastball is stupid.
It’s ridiculous. It’s fun to watch.”
Any deal for Miller would be complicated. George Lombard Jr. is considered off-limits, and he may be headed to New York soon anyway as the answer at starting shortstop.
But multiple MLB scouts told NJ.com that Padres GM A.J. Preller could be tempted by a package built around Carlos Lagrange, Will Warren and two other pieces, possibly including Jasson Dominguez.
Bednar says he’s not tracking the rumors, even if he’s been through this before. He was traded by the Pirates to the Yankees on July 31 last summer, so he knows how fast deadline noise can become reality.
“I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff,” he said.
The deadline is Aug. 3, a week from Monday, and Bednar said he’d be fine with whatever direction the front office chooses.
“We trust Cash to make whatever decisions he needs to make, but we have a great (bullpen) group right now and we have a lot confidence as a group.”
There’s also a real chance Miller never moves at all. He has three years of team control after 2026, and the Padres, sitting at 51-53 and four games out of the NL’s last wild-card spot, still haven’t decided whether they’ll buy or sell.
For now, the Yankees can at least feel good about the guy already closing games for them. Boone likes what he sees, too.
“I feel like to the eye, his stuff seems really crisp to me, that’s both the split, his four seamer,” Boone said. “The fastball I feel has been just a notch sharper. He’s mixing in his curveball a little bit, and when he does it’s been effective.
“I don’t know exactly what the numbers say, but it feels like he’s been ahead a lot, a lot of 0-1, 1-2 counts. I think that’s just the confidence in his stuff right now, the crispness of his stuff, and really that fastball-split combo has been really sharp for a while.”
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