The Yankees did not come away from the trade deadline with the bullpen help Brian Cashman was chasing, even if the front office spent plenty of time looking.
Cashman said the club tried to bolster that part of the roster before the deadline, but the market never broke its way. Per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, he put it plainly: the team “shopped in that [bullpen] aisle pretty heavily, to no avail.”
That search ended without a deal, but the Yankees still expect some internal reinforcement soon. Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt are due back, and their returns should ripple through the staff. Cashman said those comebacks would help by “deepening our staff that way.”
For now, the rotation picture already includes Cam Schlittler, Max Fried and Gerrit Cole at the top, with Rodon and Schmidt set to complete it. That could push Ryan Weathers and Will Warren into different roles, with both candidates to become high-leverage bullpen options. Weathers is scheduled to start Tuesday against the Cardinals, while Warren gets the ball Wednesday.
If that shift happens, it would add to a relief group that already includes Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn and David Bednar. Even without a deadline addition, the Yankees’ bullpen has been a strength, ranking first in MLB with a 3.16 ERA.
The deadline did bring in two bats, though. New York added slugger Luis Garcia Jr. from the Nationals and left fielder Heliot Ramos from the Giants. Garcia already made an impact, launching a two-run homer in Monday’s 13-7 loss to the Cardinals.
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