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Jonathan Holder has done enough to earn a spot in the bullpen even after Adam Warren returns

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(Presswire)

Last night Adam Warren made his second minor league rehab appearance since going down with a lat injury last month, throwing three scoreless innings with Double-A Trenton. His first rehab outing with Triple-A Scranton a few days ago did not go well at all. Warren walked two and hit two, and allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning. Terrible outing, but he felt good physically, and that’s all that matters during a rehab assignment.

“He came out of it feeling fine,” said Aaron Boone to George King following Warren’s first rehab game. “No giant red flags physically speaking, so that is good. Hopefully get better results next time out but nothing too alarming.”

Whenever Warren does return — following yesterday’s game Boone made it sound like Warren could be back at some point within the next week — the Yankees will have to squeeze him into their eight-man bullpen somehow. We know who’s staying and who has a chance to go. Barring injury, Warren will replace either Chasen Shreve, Jonathan Holder, or A.J. Cole. The other dudes are safe. You know it, I know it, they know it.

Cole seems to have taken well to the team’s anti-fastball philosophy and Shreve, like Cole, is out of minor league options, so he can’t be sent down without passing through waivers, and since he’s left-handed and breathing, he’d likely get claimed. Holder can be optioned down and in these situations teams often take the path of least resistance. Send down Holder and you get to keep everyone. Dump Cole or Shreve and you’re losing a bullpen arm.

Over the last few weeks though, Holder hasn’t just shown the Yankees he deserves a longer look, he’s quickly become one of their better relievers. The Yankees called Holder up when Warren hit the disabled list and since then he’s settled in as the fifth guy in the bullpen behind Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, David Robertson, and Chad Green. That’s the role Warren or Tommy Kahnle was supposed to fill, but haven’t for various reasons.

Holder was part of the Opening Day bullpen and he was terrible to start the season — he allowed seven runs in 2.2 innings before being sent down — but, since returning, he’s allowed one unearned run on four hits and two walks in 13.2 innings. He’s struck out 16. Very good strikeout rate (29.6%), excellent walk rate (3.7%), very good contact management (.279 xwOBA). Holder’s been awesome lately. Been a real nice shot in the arm for the bullpen.

Of course, we’re talking about 13.2 innings here, and every season literally hundreds of relievers will have great 13.2-inning stretches that will trick you into thinking they’re better than they really are. Holder’s not actually this good, but in his case, there might be a tangible explanation for the improvement. He’s changed his pitch selection. I wrote about it two weeks ago. Here’s the updated pitch selection graph:

Since returning from Triple-A late last month Holder has put his cutter and his curveball — a curveball with elite spin rate, at that — in his back pocket and gone after hitters with his slider and changeup (and four-seam fastball) instead. Righties see the slider while lefties get the changeup, and, coincidentally or not, Holder has been much more effective lately. I don’t think it’s a fluke. Change your pitch selection and get better results, and I’m taking notice.

The Yankees have shown they’ll solve their “too many good players” problem by sending undeserving players to the minors. Ronald Torreyes was sent down a few days ago despite excelling in his utility infielder’s role. Dude is beloved in the clubhouse and had been on the MLB roster every day since Opening Day 2016, and he was hitting .339/.349/.435 (114 wRC+). He was sent down anyway. This business is rough, man.

We can’t completely rule out the Yankees sending Holder down to Triple-A Scranton when Warren is ready to return, though this isn’t really another Torreyes situation. Torreyes was a utility guy who, despite being productive in that role, didn’t play much. Especially lately. He started six games — six games! — in the five weeks after Gleyber Torres was called up. As unpopular as the move was in the clubhouse (according to Boone), it did make sense given the roster.

A reliever and a utility guy are very different, however. Torreyes didn’t play much. Win or lose, Holder will get a chance to pitch multiple times a week, and he’s pitching well enough that Boone may soon start to give him higher leverage innings. Torres and Miguel Andujar can play every day and keep Torreyes on the bench. Green and Betances and Robertson can’t pitch every day. There are innings to be soaked up and Holder can do it.

Warren’s return is at least a few days away, so we’ll see what the bullpen looks like when he’s ready to be activated. Someone might pitch their way off the roster — possibly even Holder! — or someone might get hurt. Who knows. The old “this will work itself” mantra hasn’t really applied this year. The Yankees legitimately have more good players than roster spots right now. That includes Holder, who is pitching well with a possible tangible explanation for his improvement. He’s done enough to stay around even after Warren returns.

With Kahnle and Warren out, a bullpen spot is there for the taking for Jonathan Holder

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(Elsa/Getty)

One-quarter of the way through the 2018 season, the Yankees’ bullpen has not yet been the strength everyone expected. The bullpen hasn’t been bad by any means. But it hasn’t been automatic either. David Robertson’s given up some big homers, the outs aren’t coming quite as easily for Chad Green, and Dellin Betances is still prone to meltdowns. It’s been touch and go at times.

To make matters worse, both Tommy Kahnle and Adam Warren are on the disabled list, and gosh have the Yankees missed them. They’ve played a lot of close games lately — they’ve won a lot of close games lately, I should say — and the bullpen has been worked hard. Having Kahnle and/or Warren around to absorb some of the workload sure would’ve been nice this last week or two.

In the meantime Aaron Boone has had to rely on some other guys to get big outs, including Jonathan Holder. Holder had a miserable start to the season, allowing seven runs in 2.2 innings before being sent to Triple-A Scranton. Since resurfacing — Holder was called up when Warren went on the disabled list — Holder has been damn nearly untouchable for the Yankees: 9.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. Most notably, he escaped a two on, one out jam in Wednesday’s win over the Red Sox.

“It’s nice to be able to go in and get the job done. Looking back, it was a big spot. I’m glad our offense is so good that we can put up runs like we did in the eighth and come back and win,” said Holder to Dan Martin after the game. “You just have to try to trust the process. I try to learn things every day since we have lots of experience in the bullpen. Sometimes it’s tough, but nights like tonight make it fun.”

Unlike most relievers in New York’s bullpen, Holder is not a blow-you-away type. He stands out more for his spin rate than his velocity. To wit:

  • Fastball velocity: 91.8 mph (243rd among 383 pitchers with 150+ pitches thrown)
  • Fastball spin rate: 2,314 rpm (130th)
  • Curveball spin rate: 2,818 rpm (17th)

Holder’s fastball velocity is nothing special but his fastball spin rate is better than the league average (2,263 rpm). His curveball spin rate is among the best in baseball and comfortably better than the league average (2,501 rpm). Holder’s curveball spin rate is on par with guys like Justin Verlander (2,851 rpm) and Tyler Skaggs (2,741 rpm). The Yankees are spin rate believers and Holder is a spin rate darling. That’s why he keeps getting chances.

Interestingly enough though, since Holder rejoined the Yankees, he’s more or less shelved his trademark curveball, and instead gone with sliders and changeups as his primary secondary pitches. There’s been a few curveballs here and there. Mostly it’s been sliders and changeups.

The Yankees had Holder work as a starter in the minors back in 2015 because he has a deep arsenal — they scrapped that plan because his stuff backed up so much when working out of the rotation — so it’s not like he pulled the slider and changeup out of nowhere. He’s always had them, but for years he was a fastball/curveball reliever because those are his two best pitches. Now he’s a fastball/curveball/changeup guy. Hmmm.

Let’s be clear here, Holder has thrown only 9.2 innings since returning. They’ve been 9.2 great innings, but only 9.2 innings. He had a similarly excellent stretch around this time last year. This could be nothing more than small sample size noise. I do think it’s interesting Holder has changed his pitch selection though, particularly because he’s put his trademark pitch (high-spin curveball) in his pocket in favor of the slider and changeup.

There is potentially a tangible explanation for Holder’s recent success. This isn’t the same Holder getting those outs. This is a Jonathan Holder with different pitch selection, and hey, once the league catches on, maybe he won’t be so effective anymore. For now though, I think Holder’s recent pitch selection and subsequent success is a #thingtowatch. The Kahnle and Warren injuries have created an opportunity for him, and the pitch selection changes could lead to him having staying power really for the first time in his big league career.

Yankeemetrics: Beasts of East battle in the Bronx (May 8-10)

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(Newsday)

The Good Giancarlo
The Yankees epic and historic romp through the beasts of the AL continued in the series opener with another white-knuckle, drama-filled win over the Red Sox. Through Tuesday, it was their 16th win in the last 17 games (dating back to April 21), a run that is even more remarkable considering that all six teams they’ve faced during this extended stretch were in first or second place in their division at the start of the series.

Giancarlo Stanton sparked the offense early, homering in his first two at-bats to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead after four innings. The home runs couldn’t have been more different, too. The first one was a laser shot he scorched down the left field line and over the fence. It had a launch angle of 17 degrees, the lowest for any of his home runs this season. The second one was a majestic opposite-field shot that left his bat at an angle of 31 degrees, the highest for any homer he’s hit this year.

While Stanton has suffered through an inconsistent start in 2018, he’s had a few outbursts of offensive production, and this was the third time he’s launched two or more homers in a game so far. He’s just the fourth Yankee ever to have three multi-homer games within the team’s first 35 contests, joining A-Rod (2007), Roger Maris (1960) and Mickey Mantle (1956). Oh, and if those names/years sound familiar, it’s because each of the previous three guys went on to win the AL MVP that season.

After the Red Sox battled back to tie the game at 2-2, Aaron Judge took over the hero role when he laced a tie-breaking RBI single in the seventh inning off newest Yankee villain Joe Kelly. Prior to that at-bat, Judge was 0-for-6 with three strikeouts in his career against Kelly. And, though it’s hard to believe, that single was the first time Judge delivered a go-ahead hit in the seventh inning or later at Yankee Stadium.

As the Yankee bats were mostly silent aside from Stanton’s fireworks, Luis Severino shined on the mound, dominating the Red Sox with his ace-like stuff. Overcoming a shaky defense behind him, Sevy struck out 11 and walked none while allowing just two runs across six innings. He became the first Yankee with at least 11 strikeouts and no walks in a game against the Red Sox since Mike Mussina’s memorable near-perfecto on September 2, 2001.

Severino’s slider was nasty as usual (11 whiffs, 9 strikeouts), but more impressive was the increased usage and effectiveness of his changeup. He threw a season-high 24 changeups, showing excellent command of his offspeed stuff. As you can see below, he located nearly all of those changeups in the strike zone or just off the plate, keeping the hitters off-balance while generating six swings-and-misses and six foul strikes with the pitch.

Gritty, Gutty Brett Gardner
The unstoppable pinstriped freight train kept chugging along on Wednesday night, as the Yankees comeback mojo propelled them to yet another wild and crazy victory. It was their 17th win in their last 18 games, and over that span they’ve outscored their opponents by a whopping 65 runs. The only other years that the Yankees had an 18-game run that included at least 17 wins and a run differential of plus-65 or greater were 1953 and 1947 — and both of those seasons ending with a World Series celebration.

You really can’t describe these wins as shocking or stunning anymore — no lead is safe against this Yankees juggernaut. After erasing a 6-5 deficit with four runs in the eighth, this was their AL-best fourth win when trailing at the start of the eighth inning, and all four came in the last two weeks.

Perhaps the most impressive part of their scorching-hot run was that there was a different hero nearly every night. Through Wednesday, during the eight-game win streak, seven different players produced the game-winning run:

  • May 1: Gary Sanchez go-ahead homer in top of ninth
  • May 2: Giancarlo Stanton two-run homer in top of first
  • May 3: Aaron Judge go-ahead RBI groundout in top of ninth
  • May 4: Miguel Andujar walk-off single in ninth
  • May 5: Ronald Torreyes reaches on error in fifth, go-ahead run scores
  • May 6: Gleyber Torres walk-off homer in ninth
  • May 8: Judge go-ahead bases-loaded walk in seventh
  • May 9: Brett Gardner go-ahead triple in eighth
(AP)

Gardner’s heroics capped off a huge breakout game for the struggling leadoff hitter — who entered the game with a .127/.256/.127 line in his previous 18 games (79 plate appearances) — and then went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a triple. He was 1-for-6 with five strikeouts against Craig Kimbrel before knocking in the game-winning run on Wednesday.

#FunFact No. 1: The last Yankee (before Gardner) with a go-ahead triple in the eighth inning or later was Johnny Damon on June 20, 2006 against the Phillies.

#FunFact No. 2: Here’s a list of Yankees with at least three extra-base hits, including a triple, in a game against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium: Gardner, Bobby Brown (9/24/1948), Snuffy Stirnweiss (8/11/1946) and Charlie Keller (5/23/1941).

Judge then tacked on a couple insurance runs in that inning with a titanic two-run blast to center, sending the ball 429 feet with an exit velocity of 117 mph into Monument Park. It was the hardest-hit and the second-longest batted ball allowed by Kimbrel since Statcast tracking began in 2015.

(Newsday)

Bittersweet ending
The Yankees comeback mojo finally went dry on Thursday night, losing the series finale to the Red Sox despite the inevitable late-game rally. This time, however, they couldn’t overcome another bullpen implosion as their eight-game win streak and historic three-week stretch came to an end. The Yankees also had their 11-game home win streak snapped, which was their longest at the current Yankee Stadium.

Dellin Betances wore the goat horns in the loss, surrendering the game-losing homer to J.D. Martinez in the top of the eighth after tossing a perfect seventh inning. It was the fourth home run Betances has allowed in 16 innings this season — he gave up just three longballs in 59 2/3 innings last year. This was also the third time this season that Betances had come out for a second inning, and the results have been ugly: in the second inning of work, he’s allowed six runs on six hits across those three games. However, last year, in those same situations, he allowed zero runs in six games when coming out for a second inning of work.

CC Sabathia was rocked by the Red Sox in his worst start of the season, coughing up four runs on nine hits across four innings before the rain delay. The large lefty had been in vintage ace-like form for much of the season before this clunker, and entered the game riding a slew of favorable trends:

Starts ERA IP ER Runs
Thursday vs Red Sox 1 9.00 4 4 4
Entering the game
Since April 19 4 0.39 23 1/3 1 4
At Home in 2018 4 1.33 20 1/3 3 6
Vs Red Sox Since 9/29/16 5 1.08 33 1/3 4 4

Jonathan Holder was the unsung hero of the game, taking over for Sabathia after the rain delay and keeping the game within reach as he retired all six batters faced. Since being recalled from Triple-A on April 21 (when Adam Warren went on the DL), Holder has been terrific out of the ‘pen. In 8 2/3 innings, he’s allowed just one unearned run on two hits with seven strikeouts and a walk. In his first three appearances of the season before being sent down, he was rocked for an ugly .467/.500/.733 line, giving up seven runs and seven hits in 2 2/3 innings.

Yankees place Adam Warren on 10-day DL with back injury

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(Presswire)

5:22pm ET: Warren has a lat strain and will be out longer than ten days, the Yankees say. He’s been pitching through it since the first series of the season, but it really flared up last night, hence the disabled list move.

12:27pm ET: Yet another reliever is heading to the disabled list. Earlier today the Yankees announced Adam Warren has been placed on the 10-day DL with what the team is calling a right back strain. Jonathan Holder has been called up to fill the vacated roster spot.

Warren threw 46 pitches in 2.2 innings last night, allowing a solo homer. He’s pitched to a 3.24 ERA (3.50 FIP) in 8.1 innings so far this year, and he missed a few games after being hit in the ankle by a comebacker. Warren has had back trouble before — he missed three weeks with a trap strain and another three weeks with back spasms last season.

The Yankees now have nine players on the disabled list: Warren (back), Greg Bird (ankle), Luis Cessa (oblique), Brandon Drury (migraines), Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique, hip, foot), Clint Frazier (concussion), Ben Heller (Tommy John surgery), Tommy Kahnle (shoulder, biceps), and Billy McKinney (shoulder). Good grief. There is no word on Warren’s timetable.

Now that Holder is up, the Yankees have one healthy pitcher on the 40-man roster in the minors: Jonathan Loaisiga. He’s a Single-A kid who realistically is not a big league option. Non-40-man call-up candidates include Cody Carroll, Oliver Perez, Brady Lail, and Chance Adams. I suspect we’ll see those guys at some point this summer.

Yankeemetrics: Bronx is Burning (April 5-8)

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(Getty)

Dead Bats Society
The dream of an 81-0 home record was put to bed in the series opener, thanks to a 5-2 loss to the Orioles on yet another chilly night in the Bronx. After averaging more than 10 runs per game vs the O’s at Yankee Stadium last season in winning eight of 10 meetings, and never scoring fewer than four runs in any game, they scored just two runs in Thursday’s loss. Masahiro Tanaka allowed three runs, a notable number because Yankee starters had allowed two or fewer runs in each of the team’s first six games, the first time they did that since 1911.

Tanaka cruised through the first six innings allowing just three baserunners among the first 20 batters he faced. He was almost perfect with his splitter, consistently spotting it below the knees and burying it in the dirt while generating eight whiffs on 13 swings against the pitch; he was less precise with his slider in those first six innings, though the pitch generated weak contact (83 mph average exit velocity on six batted balls) and kept the Orioles off-balance:

It all unraveled in the seventh inning when the first four batters went single-home run-groundout-single, ending Tanaka’s night on the mound. As you can see below, he served up three meatballs in the hitters’ sweetspot — a slider, splitter and four-seamer — and the Orioles didn’t waste their chances to pound him.

The Yankees’ bats were as cold as the near-freezing temperatures, though they had plenty of chances to score. They had 12 baserunners but couldn’t cash in as they went 1-for-15 with runners on base. The Yankee entered Thursday’s game hitting .294 and slugging .560 with runners on base, both marks second-best in the American League.

(AP)

Nightmare on River Avenue, Part I
Friday night’s 14-inning disaster gave us our first nominee — of the series — for Worst Loss Of The Season (WLOTS). It had been three decades since they lost a game in the 14th inning or later against the Orioles — June 4, 1988 in Baltimore — and more than 50 years since it had happened in the Bronx — a 2-1 14-inning loss on July 16, 1967. The cleanup hitters in that 1967 game were Brooks Robinson and Mickey Mantle.

Without re-hashing the entire nightmare that played out over more than five hours of baseball, let’s highlight a few notable stats from the game.

  • Aaron Judge’s game-tying RBI single in the third inning was his 13th straight home game with an RBI dating back to last season, breaking the franchise record previously set by Tino Martinez (1997-98).
  • Judge also starred with his glove, robbing Caleb Joseph of a potential go-ahead homer in the 13th inning with a spectacular catch at the wall in right field. According to Sports Info Solutions, which has tracked batted ball data going back to 2004, it was the first time any player had robbed a home run in the 13th inning or later of a game.
  • Didi Gregorius gave us free baseball with a clutch solo dinger to knot the score at 3-3 in the eighth inning. It was his first game-tying homer in the eighth inning or later as a Yankee.
  • Jonathan Holder wore the goat’s horns as he picked the worst time to surrender his first career grand slam — to Pedro Alvarez in the top of the 14th inning. Holder is the first pitcher in franchise history to give up a grand slam in the 14th inning or later of a game.
(AP)

Fighting Spirit!
The Yankees bounced back from Friday’s nightmare with a resounding 8-3 win, despite trotting out a makeshift lineup that was missing several regular starters and resembled something you might see in a spring training road game.

Sonny Gray struggled badly at Yankee Stadium last year — a 5.65 ERA in seven regular season starts there — but delivered a solid, workman-like quality start (six innings, three runs allowed) in his first outing here in 2018. Most notably, he kept the ball in the park, which was a huge step forward considering in 2017 he allowed at least one home run in each of his seven regular season starts in the Bronx.

Ronald Torreyes sparked the offense from the bottom of the order with a team-best three hits, and earned our coveted Obscure Yankeemetric of the Series award:

This was Torreyes’ ninth three-hit game out of the nine-hole since joining the team three seasons ago. In the designated hitter era (since 1973), the only Yankees with more three-hit games as the number-nine hitter are Roberto Kelly (11), Bob Meacham (12), Pat Kelly (14), Melky Cabrera (15) and Bucky Dent (19).

Didi Gregorius went hitless, snapping an 18-game hit streak against the Orioles, which was the fourth-longest by any Yankee in the Divisional Era (since 1969). Yet he still contributed with two walks, extending his trend of improved plate discipline in 2018. It was Didi’s second multi-walk game on the homestand, a huge positive stat considering that he had only one multi-walk game all of last year. The two walks were his seventh and eighth of the season — he didn’t reach eight walks in 2017 until July 3 (in his 58th game).

(Newsday)

Nightmare on River Avenue, Part II
Deja Vu clobbered the Yankees on Sunday afternoon, as they suffered yet another gut-wrenching extra-inning loss to the Orioles. This one might have been even more brutal than Friday’s bummer, blowing a 5-0 first-inning lead — while chasing Orioles starter Mike Wright two outs into the game — and ultimately had the bases loaded with nobody out in the bottom of the 12th but couldn’t get anybody home. The last time the Yankees lost a game, despite the opposing starter allowing five runs and not making it out of the first inning, was September 23, 1992 against the Tigers.

Combined with Sunday’s crushing defeat, this is only the third time in the last 50 years that the Yankees lost multiple extra-inning contests this early into the season (through 10 games). It also happened in 1997 and 1980. Also, since 2011, the Yankees are now 13-27 in extra inning games at home, the worst record in MLB during that span. That seems bad! But what does it really mean? Yes, it’s happened twice in three days, but before everyone jumps off the ledge, here’s some rational thoughts to consider …

Extra-inning games tend to have random results in the long-term and year-to-year (for example, the Orioles were 16-2 in extras in 2012, but 7-7 in 2013 and 8-7 in 2011). Plus, this is a small sample of just 40 games played over seven-plus seasons for the Yankees, and you also have the dramatic roster turnover for the team on a yearly basis. And then there’s this stat to chew on: In the previous seven seasons — from 2004-2010 — the Yankees were 25-11 in extra-inning games at home, the best record in MLB during that span.

Back to the game … and the less written about it, the better. But unfortunately we can’t finish before acknowledging the pinstriped elephant in the room — Giancarlo Stanton. His game-ending strikeout in the 12th inning was his fifth of the game, and the second time on this homestand he’s earned a Platinum Sombrero. He is the first player in franchise history to compile two five-strikeout games within a Yankee career.

The only other players in the last 110 years — and likely major-league history — with multiple five-strikeout games in an entire season are Ray Lankford (three in 1998) and Deron Johnson (two in 1964). Neither of those guys did it in a span of less than a week, like Stanton. And even worse, it’s also the second time he’s struck out five times and produced no hits in a game this year. He is the only MLB player ever with two such games in a season.

Yankees place CC Sabathia and Brandon Drury on 10-day DL

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(Adam Hunger/Getty)

The list of injured Yankees keeps getting longer. As expected, the team announced a series of roster moves this morning, which includes sending two more players to the disabled list. Here’s a recap:

  • Placed CC Sabathia on the 10-day DL with a right hip strain.
  • Placed Brandon Drury on the 10-day DL with severe migraines.
  • Optioned Jonathan Holder to Triple-A Scranton.
  • Called up Luis Cessa and Domingo German from Triple-A.
  • Added Jace Peterson to the 40-man roster and called him up from Triple-A.

The Yankees had an open 40-man roster spot after losing Trayce Thompson on waivers a few days ago, so no 40-man move was necessary to accommodate Peterson. Three removed from the 25-man roster and three added to the 25-man roster. Straight swaps.

Sabathia left last night’s start with right hip soreness and an MRI came back clean. He said he didn’t believe he’d have to miss a start, and even if true, the Yankees are going to play it safe early in the season. Monday’s off-day means Sabathia will only miss one start if he misses the minimum ten days.

Drury left last night’s start with a migraine and blurred vision. Assuming Peterson takes on a bench role, Miguel Andujar could get an opportunity to play third base on an everyday basis for at least the next ten days. That’d be cool. Something tells me Ronald Torreyes will see some action there as well.

“Vision’s been very blurry. It’s baseball. I need my eyes to be right to play,” said Drury to Erik Boland, adding he’s been dealing with migraines since Spring Training. “I want to get that fixed up and see what’s going on with my vision.”

The Holder, Cessa, and German moves are all about adding fresh arms following last night’s 14-inning game. Holder has not been good this year (seven runs in 2.2 innings) and is the only optionable reliever in the bullpen, so down he went. Cessa was scheduled to start today for the RailRiders and German was due to start Monday.

Presumably either Cessa or German will step into Sabathia’s rotation spot for the time being, and it might come down to who is available. Monday’s off-day means Aaron Boone can use both in relief this weekend and still have them make Sabathia’s next start, which could be pushed back to next Saturday, on normal rest.

The Yankees now have eight (!) players on the MLB disabled list: Sabathia, Drury, Greg Bird (ankle), Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique, hip), Clint Frazier (concussion), Ben Heller (elbow), Aaron Hicks (intercostal), and Billy McKinney (shoulder). Hicks is expected back as soon as Tuesday. The other guys are all a little further out. Also, Tyler Wade left last night’s game with an illness, so he’s not 100% either.

For the Yanks, the bullpen has been an unexpected weakness early in 2018

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(Presswire)

Today, for the first time this season, the Yankees’ bullpen did not allow a run. And that’s only because the home opener was snowed out. The home opener has been rescheduled for tomorrow, assuming the weather cooperates. Whenever the Yankees play next, they’ll look to get the first scoreless game from their bullpen in 2018.

Here are the combined bullpen numbers through four games: 13.1 IP, 12 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 5 BB, 18 K, 4 HR. Yikes. Only three relievers in the eight-man bullpen have yet to be charged with a run: Chad Green (still awesome), Jonathan Holder (allowed an inherited runner to score), and Chasen Shreve (hasn’t pitched yet). David Robertson has already allowed as many runs this year (four in two innings) as he did with the Yankees after the trade last year (four in 35 innings). Not great.

The Yankees are built to win games like the two they lost. Tie game in the late innings like Saturday? The bullpen holds it down until someone on offense smacks a dinger. Three-run lead with three innings to go like Sunday? It’s supposed to be in the bag. Alas, things don’t always go according to plan, and the bullpen has been scored upon in all four games thus far. A few thoughts about this.

1. Dude, it’s four games. Obligatory small sample size reminder. Extremely small sample size, at that. Regardless of your opinion of the Josh Donaldson intentional walk, at some point we have to acknowledge Justin Smoak had a monster at-bat against Robertson. Nine pitches, fouled away a bunch of great curveballs. It really was a great at-bat. Sometimes you just get beat. I didn’t like the intentional walk, but credit Smoak for that battle.

Anyway, as long as everyone is healthy, I feel pretty confident the key late inning relievers — specifically Green, Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle — will be excellent. Green’s been great so far as it is. Also, getting Adam Warren back from his ankle bruise will help as well. Bullpens have bad series. It happens. When it happens in the first series of the regular season, it feels more meaningful even though it’s really not. The talent is still there.

“It’s gonna be a strength, I am confident in that,” said Aaron Boone following Sunday’s game. “Everything is a little bit magnified, obviously, in the early days, good and bad. I’m really comfortable over time that those guys will continue to do their thing and it will continue to not just be a strength, but I think an overwhelming strength for this club.”

(Presswire)

2. Boone has to be more judicious with Betances. I expect Green, Robertson, Kahnle, Warren, and Aroldis Chapman to be fine going forward. Dellin Betances is a different animal, for better or worse. He’s given up two home runs in two appearances — his second homer came in his 56th appearance last year — which is unusual and annoying. Then again, every pitcher seems more homer prone these days. It’s happening to everyone.

Betances has only walked one of the 13 batters he’s faced so far (and he was squeezed a bit), which is encouraging after last year, but it’s 13 batters. The larger point here is that while having confidence in your players is a good thing, Dellin is at the point where he has to earn back trust, and Boone has to be more selective with him. Eighth inning with a five-run lead on Opening Day? Perfect. Pushing him for a second inning in the late innings of a tie game Saturday? Eh.

I’m a Betances believer. I think he’ll have a typical Dellin season, which means gobs of strikeouts and not much in the way of hard contact. Boone obviously expects Betances to dominate as well. Until he shows he can consistently though, Boone has to pick his spots with him. Use him for an inning at a time and in lower leverage spots. Dellin was a multi-inning monster from 2014-16. Those multi-inning days are pretty much over.

3. Eight relievers is one too many. Still not a fan of the eight-man bullpen. I get it, I totally do. Teams don’t want to overwork anyone early in the season and they’re terrified of running out of arms. And yet, four games into the season Shreve has yet to pitch, Warren has faced three batters, and Holder has faced two batters. It’s not like the starters have pitched super deep into games either. CC Sabathia went five innings and Sonny Gray went four.

The presence of the eighth reliever creates some sense of obligation to actually use him from time to time. The Yankees hadn’t played since Monday when Holder was brought into Saturday’s game, and I think that factored into the decision to use him. He needed work! Want to improve the bullpen? Get rid of the weakest link. If things go haywire and a fresh arm or two is needed the next day, you call them up. Eighth relievers, man. Teams want them but they’re never really all that useful.

4. If the Yankees have to make changes, they will. It’s still way too early to freak out about the bullpen. Can we at least give them a homestand first? Please? If the sample grows and the struggles continue, and the Yankees have to adjust their bullpen personnel, they will. They did last year. Maybe that means call-ups, maybe it means trades. If the current group doesn’t do the job the Yankees will make changes.

The bullpen at the end of the season very rarely looks like the Opening Day bullpen. Injuries and poor performance inevitably lead to roster changes throughout the season and nowhere on the roster is that more applicable than in the bullpen. Relievers are inherently volatile. If changes are necessary, changes will be made. Right now, it’s way too early to say changes are necessary. Bullpens have bad series now and then, even great ones. The Yankees’ vaunted bullpen just had a bad series, and right now, it’s too early to say it’s anything more than that.