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With the regular season winding down, the Yankees should give Zach Britton the ball as much as possible

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(Patrick McDermott/Getty)

For the ninth time in eleven days this month, Zach Britton did not pitch for the Yankees last night. Britton tossed 1-2-3 innings against the Athletics and Mariners on September 4th and 8th, respectively, and that’s it so far in September. He hasn’t been needed much this month, but when he’s pitched, he’s been effective.

Reliever workloads can be fickle. Britton has pitched twice in eleven days this month, but he might be needed five times in the next seven days. That’s just kinda how these things work. Right now Britton isn’t being used much because the Yankees have gotten some length from their starters recently, and because there haven’t been many small leads to protect.

When the Yankees acquired Britton, he’d been back from his Achilles injury about a month, and had thrown 15.2 innings in 39 days. The Orioles had to balance keeping Britton healthy and giving him a chance to shake off the rust with showcasing him for interested trade partners. You don’t want to push a guy too hard too soon after an injury like that. At the same time, interested trade partners needed to see the goods.

Since joining the Yankees Britton has made 17 appearances and thrown 17.1 innings in 47 days. It’s 17 appearances in 45 team games, which is a 61-appearance pace across a full 162-game season. That is a little on the low side but not outrageous. However, Britton has pitched only twice this month, and only seven times in the team’s last 22 games. He’s pitched ten times in the last 29 games. That’s not much!

“Aaron (Boone) talked to me about getting me out there as much as I can so I can get in a nice rhythm and get back to myself,” said Britton to Dan Martin soon after the trade and, thus far, it hasn’t really happened. Britton has been lightly used the last two or three weeks. He’s pitched well, so that’s good. Britton’s allowed two runs in his last eleven innings while walking only one of 43 batters faced. Hooray for that.

That said, Britton still doesn’t seem to be back to where he was last year or two years ago. His 80.8% ground ball rate with the Yankees is outrageously good, but he’s only struck out 17.6% of batters faced, and he’s still falling behind in the count a little too often. Yeah, Britton’s only walked one of the last 43 batters he faced. That doesn’t mean he’s been pounding the zone.

There are only 17 regular season games remaining and I’d like to see Britton out there as much as possible, even if it means pitching him in situations he wouldn’t normally pitch. The Yankees have an off-day tomorrow and an off-day Monday. Use Britton tonight, use him twice against the Blue Jays this weekend, then take it from there. Can he pitch eight times in those final 17 games? Seems doable.

I get it, it can be difficult to balance too much work with too little work, and with a late-inning guy like Britton, you’d hate to have him not be available for a high-leverage spot one night because he pitched in a low-leverage spot to get work in the night before. The Yankees still have Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Chad Green, and Jonathan Holder for the late innings though. It’s not like Britton is their main guy out there.

The goal here is, obviously, to get Britton as much work as possible so he settles into a groove before the postseason. Aroldis Chapman is on the disabled list with a knee injury, and while he recently started throwing, we still don’t know when he’s coming back. We don’t know when he’s coming back and how effective he’ll be when he does come back. That makes Britton and the rest of the bullpen that much more important.

After a few early hiccups, Britton has pitched quite well for the Yankees lately, but there’s still another gear in there. We’ve seen it. When he first came over, the plan was to get him a lot of work so he could find a rhythm, and it hasn’t really happened yet. The Yankees don’t want to overwork Britton but they also don’t want him to stagnate either. Two appearances in September isn’t enough. Britton needs the ball more often the rest of the way.

The Yankees are built around their bullpen, and Aaron Boone’s bullpen management must improve

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(Presswire)

Yesterday afternoon, for the fifth time in their last eight games, the Yankees lost a game to a team they really need to beat. The first four of those five losses came at home against the White Sox and Tigers — the White Sox and Tigers! — two teams flirting with 100-loss seasons. Yesterday’s loss came against an upstart Athletics team that is trying to chase down the Yankees for the top wildcard spot. Oakland is now 3.5 games back (four in the loss column).

The Yankees lost yesterday because CC Sabathia stunk, first and foremost. He didn’t make it out of the fourth inning. The offense didn’t help matters either. Three runs on four hits, including no hits after the fifth inning, isn’t good enough to beat a team like the A’s. The Yankees had two runners on base with no outs in the seventh inning and couldn’t get a run home. They had two on with two outs in the eighth and couldn’t get a run home either.

The game started to slip away from the Yankees in the middle innings, when A.J. Cole allowed an inherited runner to score in the fourth and then served up a solo homer in the fifth, turning a one-run deficit into a three-run deficit. Cole was brought in with a runner on base to face the middle of the lineup. After the deficit grew, Chad Green pitched the sixth and Jonathan Loaisiga pitched the seventh and eighth, all scoreless. Gah.

It would be easy to chalk up yesterday’s bullpen machinations to one of those moves that just didn’t work out — every manager makes seemingly silly bullpen decisions from time to time — if it wasn’t something that has happened multiple times now. Consider Cole’s last seven appearances:

  • August 13th: Entered down one in the sixth, exited down four in the seventh.
  • August 18th: Entered up six in the ninth, finished the game up five.
  • August 21st: Entered a tie game in the 11th, created a bases loaded jam with no outs, and escaped.
  • August 22nd: Entered down six in the eighth, finished down six in the ninth.
  • August 27th: Entered down two in the ninth, finished down four in the ninth.
  • August 29th: Entered down three in the eighth, finished down three in the ninth.
  • September 3rd: Entered down one in the fourth, exited down three in the sixth.

Three times in his last seven appearances (August 13th, August 27th, September 3rd) we’ve seen Cole enter a game with the Yankees down no more than two runs, and let it slip away. Twice in those three games one of the usual late inning guys pitched later in the game. On August 13th it was Zach Britton, who entered with the Yankees down two in the ninth. Yesterday it was Green in the sixth inning.

Beyond the Cole infatuation, we’ve also seen Green transition from multi-inning guy to one-inning guy, something he doesn’t seem to like. Boone said he wanted to get Britton regular work to help him get back up to speed following the Achilles injury and long layoff, and he’s pitched 13 times in the last 35 games, a 60-appearance pace that would be considered on the low side for a full-time reliever. There were Chasen Shreve issues earlier this year.

You can’t manage every game like Game Seven of the World Series, and of course there are often days certain relievers are not available for whatever reason, and we just don’t know about it. But something like yesterday — using Cole in a one-run game and Green in a three-run game — stands out as a strategic mistake, especially given the explanation. And the fact something like this has happened multiple times is especially bothersome.

This is where I have to acknowledged Joe Girardi’s best trait as a manager, at least on the field, was his bullpen management. He wasn’t flawless — remember when he liked Anthony Swarzak’s slider? or Andrew Miller said he could be “wasteful?” — but, by and large, he used his relievers well. A guy like Cole, who was buried in mop-up duty most of the summer, probably would be persona non grata in a close late season game under Girardi. Or maybe not. Who knows?

It’s easy to obsess about bullpen management because, aside from the batting order, it is the most visible part of the manager’s job. With the Yankees, bullpen management takes on added importance because this team is built around the bullpen, especially when it comes to the postseason. The plan is three or four innings from the starter, maybe five, then turn it over to the relief crew and smother the other team in October. That’s how the Yankees are built.

Expecting Boone to manage a regular season game like he would a postseason game is silly — would Girardi ever bring Green into a regular season game with one out in the first like he did the Wild Card Game last year? no way — but there is still room for improvement. The Cole obsession needs to stop. Britton needs more action to get himself right. Using Green in a way he feels most comfortable seems worthwhile. Settling on a set closer with Aroldis Chapman sidelined is probably a good idea.

I expected worse bullpen management under Boone this season but I didn’t think it would be this much worse. This was the risk the Yankees took when they hired a rookie manager straight out of the broadcast booth. He’d have to learn things on the job and he’d have to do it with a team with World Series aspirations. And look, the Yankees are really good. They’re 86-52 overall and they went 17-13 in August even though like half the team was on the disabled list. The Yankees are really good. But bullpen management has been an issue, and since the Yankees are built around their bullpen, it’s something Boone has to improve.

With Zach Britton on board, the Yanks should turn Chad Green back into a multi-inning reliever

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(Adam Glanzman/Getty)

As expected, the bullpen has been a strength for the Yankees this season. Yeah, they’ve had their hiccups along the way, but that’s normal. Every bullpen goes through ups and down. The Yankees have had fewer than most. Their bullpen leads all bullpens in WAR (+7.7), strikeout rate (30.5%), and WPA/LI (6.40), among other things. They pile up strikeouts and get outs in high-leverage situations. Exactly what you want from your relief crew.

Chad Green has again been an important part of the bullpen, throwing 59 innings with a 2.75 ERA (3.01 FIP) and excellent strikeout (29.2%) and walk (4.7%) rates. Has he been as good as last season? No. But he’s been very good overall. Green fell into a bit of a rut around the All-Star break but has since shaken it off, thanks in part to a change in pitch mix. Specifically, he’s throwing a changeup now.

Green has thrown 23 changeups in his last nine appearances after throwing two changeups in his previous 92 big league games, both of which came as a starter in 2016. Hitters were sitting on his fastball — I’m surprised it took them that long, honestly — and he had to adjust, so he did. He’s still a fastball heavy pitcher, but at least now there’s something else to get hitters off the heater.

So far this season Aaron Boone has used Green as more of a true one-inning reliever. Last year Green recorded at least four outs in 29 of his 39 relief appearances, and he threw two full innings 16 times. This year Green has recorded at least four outs 17 times in 49 appearances. Only nine times has he thrown two full innings. There’s been a definite change in his usage and I think it’s time to turn him back into a multi-inning reliever, for two reasons.

1. The bullpen is deeper than it was on Opening Day. The Yankees added Zach Britton at the trade deadline and Jonathan Holder has emerged as a reliable secondary bullpen piece, so Boone is not short on one-inning setup types. There’s Britton, Holder, David Robertson, and Dellin Betances now. Then there’s Aroldis Chapman for the ninth inning. Pretty excellent bullpen fivesome right there. I’m not sure any other team can match it.

Britton gives the Yankees another one-inning setup type, affording them the luxury of pulling one guy aside, and stretching him out as a multi-inning reliever. Green’s done it and he’s the obvious candidate. So, when a starter bows out early or the Yankees run into extra innings trouble, Green can soak up two or three innings at a time rather than forcing Boone to go through a parade of one-inning guys.

Point is, having a variety of weapons in the bullpen is the good thing. The Yankees have an extreme ground baller in Britton, two strikeout heavy righties in Betances and Robertson, and a change-of-pace guy in Holder. With Sonny Gray relegated to mop-up duty and Adam Warren traded, the Yankees are short a reliever who can throw multiple high-leverage innings. Green should be that guy.

2. Green prefers pitching multiple innings. This is kind of a big deal. Green himself has said he prefers pitching multiple innings one or two times a week rather than one inning three or four times. Well, he didn’t say it in so many words, but Green strongly indicated the change in roles this year has been a difficult adjustment.

“It’s a way different role. I was throwing multiple (innings) every time out and throwing twice a week. This year, it’s more often,” Green said to Dan Martin last weekend. “(My role) has changed as of late because of the four guys at the back end of the pen and somebody’s got to throw the other innings. I have no problem with how they’re using me … You’ve still got to pitch, regardless of the situation.”

The total number of innings may be the same, but throwing multiple innings twice a week is not the same as throwing one inning four times a week. Some guys thrive with a lot of work. Betances has said he likes pitching in a lot of games because it helps him keep his mechanics under control. Green may be the opposite. He’d rather pitch more innings at a time but in fewer games. It works for him.

* * *

There’s really no wrong way to use a guy like Green. He’s pitched well in his mostly one-inning role this year — again, not as well as last year, but well — and if the Yankees keep him there, that’s fine. Green has also shown he can thrive as a multi-inning reliever (not many can!) and hey, that’s pretty valuable. The Yankees have plenty of quality one-inning relievers. Taking one and turning him into a multi-inning guy could make the bullpen even stronger, and Green is the obvious candidate for that role.

Zach Britton is getting plenty of ground balls, now he needs to stop beating himself with walks

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(Elsa/Getty)

In his two weeks as a Yankee, Zach Britton has yet to provide the team with much impact. Well, he’s having an impact, just in the wrong direction. Britton has allowed a run in four of his eight appearances as a Yankee, including in three of the last four. He’s allowed six runs and put 17 runners on base in 7.1 innings. Bad. Bad bad bad.

Monday against the Mets, Britton’s most recent outing, was kinda dumb. He faced seven batters, struck out one, hit one, and got five ground balls. Only two of the five ground balls left the infield and Britton still wound up getting charged with a run when Gleyber Torres flubbed the transfer on a double play pivot. Like I said, kinda dumb. He got BABIP’d hard that inning. His other outings? Not so much.

Britton is coming back from a torn Achilles and last year he spent two stints on the disabled list with forearm tightness, so he hasn’t done a whole lot of pitching the last year or so. Certainly not much pitching while healthy. He’s a very simple pitcher. Britton throws his mid-to-upper-90s sinker nine out of every ten pitches and lets the movement do the rest. He just hasn’t been in the zone enough.

Strikes have been hard to come by since the forearm trouble last year, and I’m guessing missing the first half of this season with the Achilles injury has only compounded things. So far Britton has walked six and plunked two in his 7.1 innings as a Yankee, and that’s after walking ten and hitting one in 15.2 innings with the Orioles. He has a 13.5% walk rate since coming back from the forearm injury last year. It was 6.9% from 2014-16.

“I had the mindset I should have, which is attack the zone with my sinker and get the guys to put the ball in play on the ground. Just continue to do that, whether they get a hit or an out,” said Britton to Dan Martin following Monday’s game. “That’s been my mindset prior, but this year that approach has been inconsistent … Aaron (Boone) talked to me about getting me out there as much as I can so I can get in a nice rhythm and get back to myself.”

Britton’s sinker is so good — the velocity is down from where it is was 3-4 years ago, which is normal for a 30-year-old, but the pitch is still moving a ton — that he doesn’t need to be precise with it. He doesn’t have to paint the corners or clip the knees. Get it over the plate in the lower third of the zone and things will be okay. If he leaves it up, it’ll get hammered, as Jose Abreu reminded us last week.

Getting the ball over the plate in the lower third of the zone has been the problem. When it’s over the plate, it’s often been too elevated or too far down in the dirt. No pitcher can just chuck a sinker middle-middle and hope for ground balls. Hitters are too good. Britton’s sinker is better than most, but even he needs to stay down around the knees. He hasn’t been able to do that. Too often the pitch has been belt high or in the dirt.

“It’s about as frustrating as I’ve been throughout my career right now. Coming off the surgery, command has been the biggest struggle,” said Britton to Greg Joyce over the weekend. “At the end of the day, it’s about me commanding the pitches and finding a way to consistently command my sinker. Once I get to that point, the performance is going to be a lot better.”

Keep in mind the Yankees knew they were not getting the vintage Britton. He’d been back roughly a month and was getting progressively better each time out, but he wasn’t all the way back to where he was post-Achilles surgery. If he were all the way back, they’ve wouldn’t have been able to acquire him for a non-top 100 prospect and two fringe top 30 prospects. They knew it would take time for Britton to get back to normal.

Also keep in mind the Yankees did not acquire Britton for August and September. I mean, they did, they have to win these games to get to October, but they acquired Britton for the postseason. The rotation is not a strength and, once the postseason begins, the plan is to have a quick hook with the starters and let the bullpen take over. Adding Britton was about making the Yankees more dangerous in the postseason, not so much August and September.

There is some element of bad luck with Britton’s balls in play. He’s allowed 23 balls in play with the Yankees, two have been hit out of the infield in the air, and both went over the fence. He’s also allowed four infield singles with the Yankees after allowing five all of last year and five in 2016. An 87.0% ground ball rate with a lower than league average 30.4% hard contact rate should yield something more favorable than a .350 BABIP on grounders. It hasn’t. Such is life.

As long as Britton keeps getting grounders, the balls in play stuff will work itself out. Control is the biggest issue right now. Not even command. We’re talking basic strike-throwing here. Britton isn’t throwing enough strikes and he’s getting himself into trouble with walks and hit batters. Perhaps he’s broken forever and the Yankees made a bad trade. Wouldn’t be the first time. I’m inclined to think Britton just needs more time following surgery. He hasn’t been good thus far, but he still has seven weeks to start throwing strikes before the Yankees really need him in the postseason.

Tommy Kahnle is stuck in reliever limbo with the Yankees

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(Presswire)

This past weekend, as part of what had become a daily bullpen shuttle, the Yankees called up Tommy Kahnle for exactly one day. He replaced Luis Cessa, who pitched in long relief Thursday night, then he was sent down for Chance Adams, who started Saturday. Kahnle faced three batters Friday night, recording a strikeout, a ground out, and a fly out. As routine as low-leverage relief appearances get.

The Yankees sent Kahnle to Triple-A earlier this season — it was a surprising move at the time — because he’d been ineffective, because his velocity was down, and because Jonathan Holder had pitched so well the Yankees had no choice but to keep him. In 22 Triple-A innings Kahnle has a 4.09 ERA (3.04 FIP) with 33.7% strikeouts and 9.8% walks. His Triple-A swing-and-miss rate (13.7%) is lower than his big league swing-and-miss rate last year (16.7%).

Kahnle’s velocity has yet to return. During his one-inning cameo over the weekend his fastball averaged 95.6 mph and topped out at 96.7 mph. Before being sent down it averaged 95.5 mph and topped out at 97.6 mph. Essentially unchanged despite pitching regularly with the RailRiders and presumably having plenty of time to get over his shoulder issue earlier this year. A graph:

Never before had Kahnle thrown as hard as he did last season and it’s possible he may never throw that hard again. At the same time, a fastball that averages 95 mph and touches 97 mph should be plenty good enough to get outs at the big league level. “(I’m) frustrated, especially because I’m not throwing as hard as I was last year and that’s the determining factor for them at this point,” said Kahnle to Lindsey Adler (subs. req’d) recently.

When the Yankees called Kahnle up over the weekend, it was because they needed another reliever, not because they wanted Kahnle specifically. Adam Warren, Chasen Shreve, and Gio Gallegos had all been traded away, ditto Cody Carroll, the team’s most MLB ready bullpen prospect. Kahnle was the only option, realistically. Aaron Boone even admitted the Yankees explored trade options before calling him up. Not exactly a ringing endorsement!

“There were a lot of options we were considering, not only internal but outside the organization, a lot of (talk) which route we wanted to go. In the end, we decided on Tommy,” said Boone to George King over the weekend. “He’s a big league pitcher … (We) feel like he gives us the best chance of winning the game. For the most part, he has been pretty good in Triple-A, feel like we’re getting quality pitcher.”

Right now the Yankees are essentially in a holding pattern with Kahnle. If they have to call him up, they’ll call him up, otherwise their actions indicate they don’t consider the current version of Kahnle to be a viable big league option, or at least not a high-end option. Gallegos was called up ahead of him several times this season, remember. So Kahnle remains in Triple-A with both he and the Yankees hoping his velocity returns even though it hasn’t yet.

I am not at all optimistic Kahnle’s velocity will return this season. It is August now and he’s been pitching regularly for months. If the arm strength isn’t there now, it’s probably not coming. Hopefully the offseason allows him to reboot, rest up, and get back to where he was last year. And, if it doesn’t, Kahnle should still get a chance to show he can be effective at this velocity. Mid-90s gas with his changeup should work.

Kahnle will certainly be back as a September call-up in a few weeks and who knows, maybe he’ll show everyone he can be an effective reliever even with reduced velocity. The Yankees have to prioritize winning right now, not Kahnle, and that’s why he’s in Triple-A. They don’t think he can be effective at the moment. The fact he’s spent one (1) day on the MLB roster the last three months tells us that, especially after how well he pitched last year. It didn’t buy him much rope.

What happens with Kahnle next season? Who knows. It is way way way too early to worry about that. This season the Yankees expected Kahnle to be an important part of their bullpen and it didn’t happen, and now he’s essentially caught in reliever limbo. Too good for Triple-A — seriously, what’s he learning down there? — but, in the eyes of the Yankees, apparently not good enough for the big leagues. Not a good place to be.

Guest Post: The Re-Marginalization of Adam Warren

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The following is a guest post from Andrew Calagna, who goes by The Original Drew in the comments. You can follow him on Twitter at @_swarlesbarkley. He previous wrote a guest post about the 2016 trade deadline.

(Hunter Martin/Getty)

Adam Warren is having a typical season by his standards. He is pitching to a 1.56 ERA (3.10 FIP) with 27.0% strikeout rate in only 17.1 innings due to missing 39 games to a back injury suffered in late April. Aside from an elevated walk rate (12.2%), what has stood out about Warren this year are the game situations he has pitched in.

In 16 appearances this season, Warren has only pitched in a total of 4 games which would be considered a high leverage situation. Of those 4 games, only 1 has been since coming off the DL on June 4th. Looking at Baseball Reference’s Average Leverage Index (aLI) [where anything above a 1.0 is considered a high leverage situation] his last 5 appearances are as follows:

  • June 15th: Pitched 9th Inning – Yankees up 5-0 (aLI 0.08)
  • Jun 17th: Pitched 8th Inning – Yankees down 3-1 (aLI 0.32)
  • June 22nd: Pitched 6th Inning – Yankees down 2-0 (aLI 1.06)
  • June 24th: Pitched 4th-5th Innings – Yankees down 6-3 (aLI 0.78)
  • June 26th: Pitched 8th Inning – Yankees up 6-0 (aLI 0.08)

A whole lot of meaningless innings there. For the 2018 season, Warren has an aLI of 0.63 and since coming off the DL (Including the conclusion of the May 15th suspended game vs Washington) he has an aLI of 0.49.

You can also look at FanGraphs and see the following:

A total of 3.2 medium/high leverage innings is a waste considering the caliber of pitcher that Warren is. Warren is being used as the last man out of the bullpen despite the results.

There are a few reasons why this is happening.

1. The Yankees have a ton of great relievers (duh). On his best day, Warren is probably considered to be the 5th best reliever in the bullpen. There are only so many high leverage innings to go around and his extended absence has lead Aaron Boone to give to opportunity to others such as Jonathan Holder (aLI 0.95).

That being said, Chapman, Betances, and Robertson, are all on pace to appear in 70+ games each, along with Chad Green on pace to appear in 63 games (career high of 40 at the MLB level) this season. Adding another reliever into the mix to take the load off of the other high leverage relievers is a must. Tommy Kahnle is another option, but as long as he continues to be pitching with diminished velocity he might be better off pitching in lower leverage spots whenever he does make his comeback to the big league roster.

2. Warren’s versatility and other injuries to the pitching staff. Warren’s history of being stretched out as a starter has given the Yankees in the past and present the ability to use him as a Swiss Army Knife reliever. He can go multiple innings, and has proven that he is comfortable pitching at any time. This is a great weapon to have when a starter does a 5 and fly, or gets knocked out early.

That being said, there are other pitchers that the Yankees currently have that can fill in that role. Luis Cessa and A.J. Cole are two names that come to mind. Given the slew of injuries to Yankees pitching staff this season, the Yankees are currently using Warren in this role out of necessity. This won’t and shouldn’t be the case going forward as guys get healthy.

* * *

This all comes with the caveat that we are talking about an extremely small sample size of 17.1 IP, so there is still plenty of time to get Warren back into Boone’s Circle of Trust™. This isn’t the first time that Warren has been marginalized in his Yankee career, and he has proven time and time again that he has the talent to be put in those high leverage situations and be successful. He just needs to be given the opportunity.

As the trading deadline approaches, many (including RAB) have suggested that the Yankees should go after another high end reliever, and while there is never such a thing as too much pitching, the reliever the Yankees could be seeking is already on the roster.

The Yankees need a starter at the trade deadline, but adding a reliever wouldn’t be a bad idea either

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Chapman after hearing he might finally get a day off. (Presswire)

After a rocky first few weeks to begin the season, the bullpen has settled in these last two months and become a strength for the Yankees. Aroldis Chapman has been nails in the ninth inning and the Dellin Betances/Chad Green setup duo has been great as well. David Robertson has bounced back from his little hiccup last month and Jonathan Holder has emerged as a reliable middle reliever.

Aside from eighth reliever A.J. Cole soaking up a precious roster spot and never ever pitching — he last pitched on May 28th, if you can believe that — things are going well for the bullpen right now. And the Yankees are going to need the bullpen to continue pitching well because the starting rotation, despite their recent excellent work, is not a strength. Sonny Gray has been inconsistent at best and Domingo German and Jonathan Loaisiga are rookies.

Starting pitching will be the focus prior to the trade deadline and rightfully so. Jordan Montgomery is not coming back, and unless Gray turns back into the Oakland A’s version of Sonny Gray very soon, he’s tough to count on for a quality performance every fifth day. As good as the rotation has been lately — the starters have a 2.72 ERA (3.38 FIP) in June — the Yankees have a clear need for another starting pitcher in my opinion.

Do the Yankees need another reliever as well? Well, no, the Yankees don’t need another reliever. But is the bullpen something that can be improved at the trade deadline? Of course it can. Bullpens are more important now than ever before, and come postseason time — assuming the Yankees get there, of course — when every inning is a high-leverage inning, the more quality relievers, the better. Some thoughts on a potential reliever addition.

1. The Yankees need lighten the load. Because the Yankees have played (and won) so many close games lately — the pitching has been great this month, the offense hasn’t — the regular late inning relievers have pitched an awful lot these last few weeks. Chapman was pitching for the eighth time in the last 16 days last night and he looked visibly fatigued to me. Some numbers:

  • Betances: On pace for 70 appearances
  • Chapman: On pace for 75 appearances (career high is 68 in 2012 and 2013)
  • Green: On pace for 66 appearances
  • Robertson: On pace for 77 appearances (career high is 70 in 2011 and 2013)

On one hand, the Yankees do not have a single reliever in the top 25 in relief appearances this season. On the other, they have three dudes on pace for 70+ appearances, and that’s a lot.

I’ve been a baseball fan long enough to know reliever usage is volatile. Chapman pitched for the eighth time in 16 days last night, and before you know it, Aaron Boone will be looking to get him into a game this weekend because he needs work. There are always those long stretches of inactivity. Even still, adding another top notch bullpen arm to lighten the load on everyone else wouldn’t be a bad idea.

2. Should the Yankees add a lefty? Not counting Chapman, who is married to the ninth inning and save situations, the only left-hander in the bullpen right now is Chasen Shreve. He is pitching like Chasen Shreve always seems to pitch: 4.56 ERA (5.33 FIP) with lots of strikeouts (29.9%), more walks than you’d like (11.2%), and lots of dingers (2.3 HR/9). And, once again, he has a reverse split:

Shreve vs. RHB, 2018: .246/.310/.477 (.338 wOBA)
Shreve vs. LHB, 2018: .207/.361/.552 (.386 wOBA)

Shreve vs. RHB, career: .215/.310/.433 (.319 wOBA)
Shreve vs. LHB, career: .230/.330/.421 (.325 wOBA)

Shreve has reverse split and yet we’ve seen Boone use him in left-on-left matchup situations several times, most notably last week against the Nationals, when Boone let Shreve throw a second inning because several lefties were due up. Juan Soto, a left-handed hitter, hit what proved to be the game-winning homer. Sigh.

Now, just because the Yankees only have one non-Chapman southpaw in the bullpen, it does not necessarily mean they should added a lefty reliever. Their righties are very effective against lefty batters, specifically Betances, Green, and Robertson. In a high-leverage spot with, say, Andrew Benintendi at the plate, I want one of those guys on the mound rather than a lefty who is out there just for the sake of the left-on-left matchup.

Would adding a left-handed reliever be worthwhile? Sure. It’s good to have variety in the bullpen and there are times when getting that left-on-left matchup makes sense. If the Yankees get another reliever, it doesn’t have to be a lefty because the righties are so good at getting out lefties. It wouldn’t hurt to add a southpaw though.

3. A rental would be a-okay with me. Years of control is a big obsession in baseball these days. Teams don’t just want to add good players, they want good players they can keep around for several years. And that’s great! Makes perfect sense, no? It generally costs more to acquire those players, but that’s okay. You get them longer. One of the reasons the Yankees traded for Sonny Gray was his two and a half years of control.

If the Yankees add a reliever, I don’t think targeting someone with control beyond 2018 is imperative. It’d be nice, but it’s not necessary. The goal — and this applies to any trade for this Yankees team, really — is putting the 2018 team in the best position to win the World Series. If you can get someone under control long-term, great. But give me the best player for the 2018 Yankees, first and foremost. Rentals are generally cheaper and there’s no long-term risk. They’re underappreciated in today’s game, I think.

4. Are internal options better? The Yankees do have Tommy Kahnle and Cody Carroll stashed with Triple-A Scranton, remember. Justus Sheffield could be a bullpen option too. Ditto German or Loaisiga once Masahiro Tanaka returns from his duel hamstring injuries. So I guess the question becomes this: Is it worth using prospect and luxury tax payroll capital to get a reliever when you have those guys already in the organization?

For me, the answer is yes. Depends on who the Yankees would be acquiring, of course, but the answer is yes. As long as Shreve and the seldom used Cole are on the MLB roster, and Kahnle’s throwing 95-96 mph rather than 98-99 mph, and Carroll and Sheffield have zero big league time, the answer is yes. Acquire a reliever and he’s an upgrade over someone. The Yankees would be making their organization stronger. They have internal bullpen options. There’s also nothing wrong with adding to a strength.

5. Who are some potential bullpen targets? Kelvin Herrera came off the market yesterday when he was traded to the Nationals in the middle of last night’s game. Brad Hand is the top guy on the market now. He is under control through 2021 and excellent. Zach Britton and Brad Brach are both rentals who may not be viable options for the Yankees given the whole intradivision thing. Jeurys Familia is another rental and guys like Blake Treinen and Raisel Iglesias figure to be out there. They’ve been great.

Hand is my preferred target because he’s great and is under control for another few years, though that means the price will be crazy high. The Padres wouldn’t be wrong to ask for an Andrew Miller-esque return and I don’t really want the Yankees to pay that. My alternative target: Adam Ottavino. He’s a rental, he’s a local dude (born in Manhattan and raised in Brooklyn), and he’s very good. This season he has a 0.89 ERA (1.74 FIP) with 48 strikeouts in 30.1 innings around an oblique injury. His slider:

Ottavino was terrible last season and, as Travis Sawchik explained, he basically rebuilt himself in a vacated storefront in Harlem over the winter. Pretty neat story. Ottavino has been excellent this year — he’s had very good seasons in the past too, so he’s not necessarily a one-year wonder — and the Rockies are fading out of the postseason race. Would they make Ottavino available at the deadline? Trade for him and he might jump at an extension to stay close to home too.

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“This team has earned the right to get reinforced here if we can possibly find a way. But we certainly like the team we’ve got and would certainly love to make it better, if possible,” said Brian Cashman in perfect GM speak to Dan Martin over the weekend. Does the bullpen need to be fixed? Nah. Can it be improved? Of course. There’s always room for improvement. The Yankees lean on the bullpen heavily and anything they can do to strengthen it is worth exploring.

As far as I’m concerned, getting another starting pitcher is the top trade deadline priority. As good as the starters have been lately, I’m not especially comfortable with the rotation as is given CC Sabathia’s knee, Tanaka’s hamstrings and elbow, German’s and Loaisiga’s greenness, and Sonny’s Grayness. The rotation needs to be solidified. The bullpen can improved too, and it’s not an either/or situation. They can work to improve both at the same time. Another reliever isn’t absolutely necessary. It is something worth considering though.