The Yankees didn’t land bullpen help at the trade deadline, and for now Aaron Boone is asking David Bednar and the rest of the relief group to carry the load through August.
That’s not a disaster. New York’s bullpen has been steady, putting up a 3.11 ERA that ranks second in the majors.
The pitching staff as a whole has been even better, leading the majors with a 3.33 ERA. Still, if the Yankees lose an arm while trying to hold their place in the American League Wild Card race, Brian Cashman may have to shop the free-agent market for a quick fix.
Three names stand out, even if all three come with obvious baggage.
Lou Trivino became available Thursday after the Phillies designated him for assignment. His 15.00 ERA in five appearances this season, split between Philadelphia and Baltimore, is the kind of number that makes a team pause.
But there’s a reason he remains on the radar. Trivino had a 3.97 ERA last season in 47 appearances for the Dodgers, Phillies and Giants, and he already knows the Yankees’ bullpen room.
New York got him from the Athletics in 2022, and he rewarded them with a 1.66 ERA in 25 outings. His Yankees stint was interrupted by Tommy John surgery, which wiped out the 2023 season, and since then he’s bounced through five clubs, including two separate stops with the Phillies.
He also has a strong playoff track record, carrying a 0.96 ERA in nine postseason appearances and tossing 3.2 scoreless innings for the Yankees in 2022.
Craig Kimbrel brings a very different kind of résumé. The 38-year-old is a future Hall of Famer, sitting fifth all-time with 440 saves and carrying nine All-Star nods, plus a Rookie of the Year award in 2011 with the Braves and a World Series ring with the Red Sox in 2018.
But the results have slipped. He hit free agency Wednesday after the Rays designated him for assignment, and his 4.81 ERA in 33 appearances this season - beginning with the Mets - explains why.
Even so, Kimbrel was still useful last year, posting a 2.45 ERA in 13 games for the Astros. Before that, he logged at least 22 saves in three straight seasons: 22 in 2022 with the Dodgers, 23 in 2023 with the Phillies, and 23 in 2023 and 2024 with the Orioles.
Then there’s Chris Devenski, who was demoted by the Pirates on Wednesday after a stint on the injured list with an undisclosed illness. He has made only three major league appearances this season and owns a 7.71 ERA, but he looked much sharper in 2024, finishing with a 2.16 ERA in 13 games for the Mets. Devenski has been around long enough to know the drill, with 11 MLB seasons behind him, a Rookie of the Year case in 2016 and an All-Star nod in 2017 during Houston’s World Series run.
None of these options is clean. That’s the point.
Each is still sitting there for a reason. But if the Yankees need an emergency arm for the stretch run, Trivino, Kimbrel and Devenski may be the best of the available bad choices.
In Other News...
Orioles Fans Wont Like Where Gunnar Henderson Speculation Is Going
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One name hanging over that discussion is Gunnar Henderson, whose long-term fit in Baltimore has become a topic of speculation from outlets such as FanSided and ESPN. If Henderson eventually becomes available, the Yankees would clearly have reason to pay attention, and Lombards path could change quickly depending on how the roster develops. For now, it is only a hypothetical, but it is the kind of hypothetical that tends to keep an eye on the Bronx and the division race alike. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Fans Will Hate Seeing Tommy John Facing This Unclear Fight
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What makes the moment especially uneasy is how little has been made public about where things stand now. The Yankees announced his condition, but did not spell out the specifics, leaving only the sense that a familiar baseball figure is confronting an unclear fight. For a player whose name has echoed through the sport for decades, this is a reminder that the stories around him can still turn far more personal than anything that happened on a mound. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Bullpen Problem Now Points To A Risky Internal Answer
The Yankees left the trade deadline without adding a reliever, which has pushed the bullpen conversation back inside the organization. Joel Sherman said the club may have to sort through internal possibilities, with names like Clarke Schmidt, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers in the mix as the team looks for some way to stabilize the late innings without outside help.
One of the more intriguing options is Luis Gil, though the idea comes with real uncertainty. The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year has had his share of performance and health issues, and the club still has to decide whether his stuff would play better in shorter bursts or whether moving him would just create a different problem somewhere else on the pitching staff. [Read more 🡒]