Yankees Bullpen Watch: As the Market Thins, New York Remains on the Sideline
While much of the MLB offseason has moved at a crawl, the reliever market has been anything but slow. Bullpen arms have flown off the board in a flurry of early winter activity. And yet, one team that arguably needs bullpen help the most - the New York Yankees - has remained curiously quiet.
For a team whose bullpen ranked 23rd in the league last season, you'd expect the Yankees to be aggressive, especially with so many quality arms already scooped up. Instead, the silence has been deafening.
Meanwhile, Across Town…
The Mets, of all teams, have been the ones snatching up pieces from the Yankees' underwhelming bullpen. They brought in Devin Williams, one of the top closers available, and also added Luke Weaver - a pitcher the Yankees didn’t even offer a deal to, despite him being one of the few potentially salvageable arms from last year’s group.
It’s not just the Mets making moves. Around the league, names like Robert Suarez, Kenley Jansen, and Brad Keller have already found new homes. The top-tier talent is drying up fast, and the options left on the board are getting slimmer by the day.
So where does that leave the Yankees?
The Best of What’s Left
There are still some intriguing names out there - but the window is closing quickly. At the top of the list is Pete Fairbanks, one of the few remaining relievers with legitimate closing experience and recent success. He brings power stuff and late-inning moxie, something the Yankees could desperately use.
Beyond Fairbanks, there are a few others who could be worth a flyer:
- Luis Garcia: He’s been solid in the past, but at 37, his best years may be behind him. He hasn’t been dominant since 2022.
- David Robertson: A familiar face with a long track record, but he never found his footing in 2025 after signing late in the season. Still, his 2024 with Texas showed he’s not done yet.
- Michael Kopech: A high-upside arm who was crucial for the Dodgers in late 2024, but injuries derailed most of his 2025. When he did pitch, his control issues were glaring - more walks than strikeouts is never a good sign.
Each of these options comes with question marks, but in a thinning market, they might be the best bets left for a team in need of bullpen stability.
The Riskier Plays
Then there are the arms that come with more red flags than upside.
Seranthony Dominguez is a classic high-risk, high-reward play. He struck out over 30% of hitters last season - a strong number - but also walked nearly 14%. That kind of volatility has defined his last few seasons, and while 2025 was a step up from his previous two years, he’s still far from a sure thing.
Kirby Yates is another name that might raise eyebrows. When the Dodgers signed him last winter, there was hope he could return to form.
Instead, he gave up nearly two homers per nine innings and finished with a 5.23 ERA. His 2024 numbers were better, but in hindsight, probably a mirage.
Derek Law won’t be an option until mid-2026 after elbow surgery, and Hunter Harvey, while effective in limited innings last year, has had trouble staying healthy. His ERA has bounced all over the place in recent seasons - a 2.82 in 2023, followed by a 4.44 in 2024, and then just 10.2 scoreless innings in 2025. That’s bullpen life in a nutshell: unpredictable.
Jakob Junis is more of a long reliever or swingman, and with Ryan Yarbrough already filling that role, there’s just not a fit here.
The Big Question: What’s the Plan?
The Yankees' bullpen, already a weak spot, is now staring down the possibility of entering 2026 with even fewer proven arms. And with most of the top-end talent already signed, the options left are either injury risks, aging veterans, or high-variance arms with major control issues.
There’s still time, and Brian Cashman has pulled rabbits out of the hat before. But with each passing day, the market tightens, and the pressure builds. If the Yankees want to shore up the back end of their pitching staff, they’ll need to act - and soon.
Because right now, the silence is getting louder.