Tim Hill has earned plenty of goodwill in the Bronx, but the Yankees may be reaching the point where sentiment has to give way to necessity.
The left-hander has been a useful bullpen piece since arriving from the Chicago White Sox, and New York has brought him back twice since then. He even got a bigger spotlight this year when he was added to Team USA for the World Baseball Classic.
Hill’s path to this point has been the kind of story that sticks with people: a 32nd-round pick in 2014, a long climb to the majors, the loss of his father to colon cancer in high school, and then his own Stage 3 colon cancer diagnosis at 25. He has been, in every sense, a fighter.
But the 2026 version is starting to show real wear. Hill opened the season in strong form, putting up a 1.42 ERA over 12 2/3 innings in the first month.
Since May 1, though, he has a 6.17 ERA across 23 1/3 innings, and the home run problem has become impossible to ignore. In July alone, he has already faced 20 batters and allowed four homers, after giving up just three while seeing 128 batters from Opening Day through June 30.
That’s why the Yankees’ bullpen, even with its league-leading 3.04 ERA, still has a crack in it. The issue isn’t the entire unit. It’s the lefty specialist role, and Hill’s grip on it looks shaky enough that New York should be looking at alternatives.
One name that fits: Daniel Lynch IV of the Kansas City Royals.
Kansas City is expected to move some pieces as it works through a disappointing 2026 season, and Lynch IV is the kind of reliever teams could ask about. He’s having a strong year, with a 2.35 ERA in 39 appearances and 38 1/3 innings. His ground-ball rate sits at 50%, which is plenty good even if it doesn’t quite match Hill’s profile, and his 94.9 mile per hour average fastball velocity gives him a different kind of look.
The track record matters too. Lynch IV posted a 3.06 ERA over 67 2/3 innings last season and a 3.32 ERA in 43 1/3 innings in 2024, so this isn’t just a one-year spike.
What makes him especially interesting for New York is the way he handles both sides of the plate. Lefties have been overwhelmed, hitting just .136/.197/.182 against him.
But unlike Hill, he isn’t limited to one matchup lane. Right-handed hitters have managed only a .205/.289/.370 line against him this season.
That versatility matters because the Yankees already have other left-handers in the bullpen, but they serve different jobs. Brent Headrick has been the fireman, the arm used when things start to spiral, and he’s been excellent in that role with a 1.55 ERA over a major league-leading 47 appearances. He also has reverse splits that make him a tricky fit for a role change, with righties hitting just .182 against him compared with a .290 average by same-handed hitters.
Ryan Yarbrough, meanwhile, is more of an innings-eater out of the bullpen. He’s there to soak up frames when needed, and while he can look redundant with Paul Blackburn on the roster, Blackburn’s strong performance could push him into more important spots.
Lynch IV would give the Yankees something different: a matchup lefty who can also survive when the middle innings get messy and pinch-hitters start coming off the bench. His 4.46 FIP in high-leverage situations suggests the price may not be outrageous, and the team control through 2028 makes him especially appealing for Brian Cashman.
Hill’s story still matters, and so does everything he’s done for the Yankees. But if New York is serious about tightening up the bullpen, the next move may be the hardest one: replacing a fan favorite before the regression gets any uglier. Lynch IV looks like the cleanest answer.
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