3 relievers the Yankees can target to make sure their October bullpen collapse never happens again

Last season at the trade deadline, the Yankees were faced with several obvious weaknesses. Their lineup lacked a reliable middle-of the-order hitter, their bullpen was full of holes, and their defense was sloppy. Brian Cashman worked to solve their lineup problem by acquiring Jazz Chisholm Jr.

The Yankees’ bullpen was more or less treated as an afterthought. Cashman traded for Enyel De Los Santos (who was later DFA’d) and Mark Leiter Jr. As the Yankees entered the World Series, these flaws began to deepen. It started when Aaron Boone sent Nestor Cortes to the mound fresh off the injured list for over a month to blow the save in Game 1, and by the fifth game, Boone had already exhausted his reliable arms. The Yankees’ lack of bullpen depth had finally come back to doom them while on their first World Series run in 15 years.

Of course there was also their frightful defense to blame, but between their shabby defense and shallow bullpen, the outcome wasn’t all that surprising. The Yankees had built a contender, but didn’t have the follow-through to build a winner. Now, they have a chance to do just that. This starts with re-signing Juan Soto. But just signing Soto won’t bring the Yankees closer to winning than in this past season. They would return in 2025 with nearly the same team.

To give them their best chance of winning, Cashman needs to shore up the bullpen. With Tommy Kahnle, Clay Holmes, and Tim Hill amongst other Yankees’ relievers on the free agent market, they’re already far behind. But this gives them the opportunity to significantly improve. With the goal of building an absolute lockdown bullpen, who should Cashman target?

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3. Devin Williams

Devin Williams has already cemented himself as an elite closer. His heater won’t light up the radar gun, but his signature slider, the airbender, has baffled hitters for years. The 2020 Rookie of the Year has pitched to an ERA below 2.00 each of the past three years, though this includes an injury shortened 2024 season. This past season saw Williams only throw 21.2 innings. But in that short stretch, he threw to a 1.25 ERA with an impressive 38 strikeouts.

Devin Williams headed to the Bronx is not a new idea. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and David Schoenfield collaborated on just such a scenario.

“The Yankees have both Clay Holmes and Tommy Kahnle as free agents and need some late-game depth,” they wrote in conjunction. “And they should probably hedge their bets against Luke Weaver repeating his dominant 2024. If he does, great -- Weaver and Williams would make for a dynamic 1-2 duo. The Brewers would probably be wise to trade Williams to the American League, and the Yankees have some starting pitching depth in the minors that could fill a need for Milwaukee.”

Williams is on the final season of his contract with the Brewers and is expected to make $8.4 million in 2025 according to Spotrac. He is one of the MLB’s super-talents and as such, it may be a winning idea for the Yankees to trade for him. Even better, if they can extend him, this will probably work to their advantage for years to come.

2. Kirby Yates

On the free agent market, this season is a familiar name and MLB journeyman who has often wowed baseball fans with his dominance. That journeyman would be Kirby Yates. This past season, Yates threw 61.2 innings to the tune of an incredible career-low 1.17 ERA with 85 strikeouts. It was the second time he finished a season with an ERA below 1.20.

The one thing teams are rather skeptical about is his consistency. Yates got off to a poor start for the first four years of his career and has been injured numerous times since then. Yates only pitched 11.1 innings from 2020 through the end of 2022 to disastrous results. He returned in 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and finished the season with a 3.28 ERA. His 2023 performance aside, when he is healthy, he is one of the top relievers in the game.

The Yankees may have reason to be a little wary of him when reminiscing about his one-year tenure in pinstripes. In that 2016 season, he pitched to an abysmal 5.23 ERA. But to his defense, this was at an early stage in his career when he was a sub-par bullpen arm. In 2018, he hit his stride and hasn’t thrown a qualifying number of innings, which saw his ERA drop below the previously mentioned 3.28. should the Yankees sign him, he will likely provide them the depth they need to persist throughout the postseason. Yates is entering his age-38 season, so a contract for him will likely be short and relatively inexpensive.

1. Tanner Scott

After a long rough patch that lasted from the start of his career, Tanner Scott is breaking out in a huge way. In 2023, the emerging southpaw threw to a 2.31 ERA with 104 strikeouts through 78 innings. This past season was even more remarkable. Scott finished with a 1.75 ERA with 84 strikeouts through 72 innings, winning his only All-Star nod. His strikeout rate dipped noticeably, but the results have never been better (Scott finished with a 1.31 ERA in 2020, but had only thrown 20.1 innings).

Scott’s ERA ballooned after being traded from the Marlins to the Padres, but he still kept it low pitching to a 2.73 ERA in San Diego. He primarily throws a heater that averages 97 mph and a slider in the high 80s.

Scott is seen as one of the most sought-after bullpen arms on the market this offseason. With that said, he won’t come cheap. ESPN’s David Schoenfield estimates he will sign a contract worth $54 million for four years. But with him as a closer, the Yankees can rest easy when they hand the ball to him. However, just in case Cashman would prefer not to spend on an expensive, flashy reliever like Scott, I included some honorable mentions below that could fill in admirably.

Honorable mentions: Jeff Hoffman, Chris Martin, Jakob Junis, JT Chargois, Jordan Romano, Danny Coulombe