Matt Blake is going to keep living in the spotlight, for better or worse. That comes with the job when you’re the Yankees’ pitching guru and the bullpen keeps swinging between rescue act and fire drill.
He can turn one arm into a weapon. He can also get handed another “unlockable” trade deadline piece that never quite comes around.
That’s the contradiction baked into the whole setup.
Still, there’s no dodging what’s happening right now: the Yankees’ bullpen, flawed as it remains, is quietly becoming good enough to back up its numbers. And two of the biggest reasons are Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn, who have climbed into rare company with two of the top seven ERAs among MLB pitchers with 50-plus innings this season.
That reality was hard to miss after Wednesday night, when Blackburn’s two shutout innings helped preserve a tight Yankees win. Aaron Boone has been getting more questions about the veteran right-hander lately, and the vibe from the manager was clear enough - he’d probably prefer the rest of the league stop noticing so the Yankees can keep him under wraps.
But when two mostly anonymous relievers are sitting alongside Shohei Ohtani and Jacob Misiorowski, people are going to ask. The Yankees’ bullpen ERA has also somehow moved into second place in the AL at 3.06, just behind the Red Sox’s 3.02. That doesn’t erase the mess around it, but it does mean Blake deserves some credit while the criticism takes a breath.
Seven MLB pitchers this season have 50+ innings and an ERA of 2.00 or better. Yankees are the only team with two in Brent Headrick (51.1 IP, 1.40 ERA) and Paul Blackburn (54 IP, 2.00 ERA)
The others are Shohei Ohtani, Jacob Misiorowski, Louie Varland, Troy Melton and Ben Brown pic.twitter.com/J923zHCGiQ
- Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 23, 2026
Blackburn’s own comments after the win made the process sound a lot less mysterious than the outside noise suggests. The Yankees didn’t just pick him up and hope for the best. They handed him a plan from the jump.
“When I showed up last year, I didn't know what to expect, really. I walked in and there was a plan for me from day one.”
Paul Blackburn talks about returning to the Yankees in a bullpen role: pic.twitter.com/XUXXWSGYee
- SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) July 23, 2026
That’s part of why he came back this season. If the blueprint worked once, why not keep going? Right now, it looks like a smart call on both sides.
The same kind of structure was in place for Headrick this offseason, too, with bullpen coach Preston Claiborne recently saying the team wanted to increase his workload and help him hold onto the gains he’d made.
The Yankees still have obvious issues. The pitching lab isn’t earning an “A++” this year, and Brian Cashman has to wear the blame for dropping difficult fits like Bird and Doval into important roles.
Bird’s sweeping stuff has been far more effective at Coors Field than elsewhere, and the Yankees have also been left wanting more variety. Yovanny Cruz’s velocity is missed, Tim Hill remains a useful role player, and Ryan Yarbrough is still occupying a longman spot when the bullpen could use another trusted escape option.
Fernando Cruz is also getting worn down because the top trio has had to carry so much early.
Even so, the Yankees have found some real answers in-house. Will Warren being used on a throw day with a two-run lead over Camilo Doval on Wednesday probably says enough about where Doval stands now. His high-leverage Yankees run looks finished, and that spot is open again.
Internally, Angel Chivilli has also done enough lately to put himself in the mix. Blackburn has settled in as No.
4, Headrick as No. 2, and Chivilli may be next in line. The Yankees have somehow built a 4.5-headed monster out of grit, and if the trade deadline brings a little more velocity and swing-and-miss, that strength could get even harder to touch.
In Other News...
Yankees May Have Found The Deadline Catcher This Lineup Desperately Needs
The Yankees search for help behind the plate has become one of the quieter but more obvious deadline storylines, with Austin Wells still searching for consistency and the rest of the catching mix offering little certainty. That is why the idea of adding a more established bat at catcher has started to make sense, especially for a club trying to squeeze more offense out of every spot in the lineup.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic floated Colorados Hunter Goodman as a name worth watching, and the fit is easy to see from New Yorks side because a move like that could ease the burden on Wells while giving the Yankees another middle-of-the-order option on days when the catcher is not behind the plate. The catch, of course, is that the Rockies are not likely to move a player with that kind of control lightly, which is why this remains one of those deadline ideas that feels intriguing now and complicated the moment the real negotiations begin. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Bullpen Hunt Just Took A Serious Turn
The Yankees search for bullpen help has moved well beyond the usual July window shopping. According to USA Todays Bob Nightengale, the club is also looking for a backup catcher and additional offense, but the most eye-catching part of the report is the level of relief arm they are chasing as the deadline approaches.
Mason Miller has been one of the most effective relievers in the game this season, and the appeal is obvious for a Yankees team trying to shorten games down the stretch. He is also under team control through 2029, which only raises the stakes for any deal, because getting him would almost certainly require a massive return and a front office willing to pay a steep price. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees May Have Quietly Found The Bullpen Help They Desperately Needed
When the Yankees signed Paul Blackburn to a one-year deal after his release from the Mets, it looked like the kind of low-risk move teams make to patch over a bullpen need. Instead, Blackburn has quietly turned into one of the steadier arms in Aaron Boones relief mix, putting up a 0.99 ERA over 36 1/3 innings since mid-May and giving the club a useful option in spots that matter most.
His turnaround has been tied to both a bump in velocity and a change in how he attacks hitters, which has helped him fit into the late-inning picture far better than expected. Boone has already noted how well Blackburn has handled high-leverage situations, and with the trade deadline approaching, the bigger question is whether this unexpected internal answer changes how aggressively the Yankees need to shop for bullpen help. [Read more 🡒]