The Yankees are heading into another deadline with the same problem that bit them last year: the bullpen still needs help, and the market isn’t making life easy.
A year ago, New York patched things together with David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird. This time around, the pool of clean fits looks thinner. The AL is packed with teams still chasing October, and the NL doesn’t have a ton of obvious closers sitting there waiting to be moved.
That’s why Miami looked so appealing. The Marlins have the kind of bullpen depth that usually makes a contender’s front office start dialing. They don’t have a headline closer, but they do have a collection of relievers who can be moved without tearing the whole thing apart.
The catch is that Miami has turned into a much tougher sell. June has been a blast for the Marlins, who are 19-6 in the month, have climbed over .500, and now sit with about a 50-50 shot at a postseason berth. That changes everything.
Anthony Bender, who is now injured, Lake Bachar and John King are the kinds of arms they could consider moving, but the Marlins are in position to ask for real MLB help in return. If a team wants to pry away pitching from a club that’s suddenly rolling, it’s going to have to give something meaningful back.
If Miami keeps this up, the Yankees may have to look elsewhere - even if that means a pivot to the Mets, which would be a funny turn given how often Flushing has become the landing spot for old Yankees and Juan Soto. New York could end up paying the second year of Luke Weaver’s contract in a deal that would be expensive, but maybe necessary.
Huascar Brazoban is another name in the mix, with years of control and a 1.94 ERA, though that may be more appealing to some than others.
The bigger picture is simple: Miami has more bullpen depth than most sellers, and Peter Bendix seems likely to work a hybrid deadline, moving from a surplus while also trying to strengthen other parts of the roster. That kind of approach could make sense for the Marlins.
For the Yankees, though, every Marlins win makes the path harder. Miami’s June surge has only made the deadline landscape more complicated for New York, and maybe a whole lot less convenient.
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