The New York Yankees have had a bullpen problem brewing for weeks now, one of the primary causes of their 9-11 swoon in the month of July. But on Friday, it became a full-on crisis: New York took a 3-2 lead into the top of the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies but wound up losing 12-5, as four Yankees relievers (Tim Hill, Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton and Scott Effross) combined to give up a whopping 10 runs in just three innings of work.
Brian Cashman needed to do something about this yesterday; it's been clearly for weeks now that this bullpen was running on fumes, in need of just some fresh arms after injuries to Mark Leiter Jr. and Fernando Cruz put a strain on everyone. He's yet to show any real urgency on this front, although maybe Friday's debacle will finally light a fire. Assuming it does, here are four players whose jobs could and should be in jeopardy prior to the July 31 trade deadline.
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1. RHP Scott Effross
The Yankees had high hopes for Effross when they acquired him for Hayden Wesneski at the 2022 trade deadline. But he underwent Tommy John surgery that October, and at this point it's clear that years of health issues have sapped him of the stuff he once had.
Effross couldn't even handle mop-up duty on Friday, giving up four runs in the ninth inning when the game's outcome had already been decided. It was the fourth time in his last five outings that the righty has given up at least one run, bumping his ERA up near 9.00 on the season. None of those have been particularly high leverage; he's simply not a big-league reliever right now, and he might never be again.
2. RHP Ian Hamilton
Speaking of guys who have fallen off a cliff: Remember not too long ago, when it looked like Hamilton might have the goods to sneak his way into the closer's role? What a difference a year or two makes: The righty seems completely cooked now, after allowing a two-run homer to Kyle Schwarber in the eighth inning on Friday night.
On the right day, Hamilton still looks unhittable, with a boring sinker and a hard, biting slider. But all too often he simply has no idea where the ball is going, falling behind in counts and either putting guys on via walk or being forced to throw strikes that take up too much of the plate in hitter's counts. Maybe he can work his way back to the guy he used to be at some point, but the Yankees don't have the time to find out.
3. RHP Allan Winans
Winans enjoyed some success as a starter at Triple-A this year, but that has not translated to the big-league level. He's at the bottom of the bullpen pecking order right now, which doesn't bode well for his place on the roster once Cashman adds at least one and likely multiple relief arms between now and July 31. Winans has allowed at least three runs in each of his two appearances in the Majors in 2025; he's a depth arm, nothing more, and certainly not someone who should be trusted to get meaningful outs in a playoff race.
4. RHP JT Brubaker
This is more a numbers crunch than anything. Brubaker has actually been OK, all things considered, knocking the rust off after coming back from Tommy John surgery and growing into a multi-inning role for the Yankees. The problem is that he figures to be squeezed once New York makes any deadline additions; and if Cashman decides to add another starter to the mix, whoever gets bumped from the rotation can likely become the new long man.
What Yankees bullpen could look like post-trade deadline
So, where does that leave us? Devin Williams, Luke Weaver and Tim Hill are set in stone, and the team is likely committed to trying to get Jonathan Loaisiga back to his prior form. But Cashman needs to acquire at least two and maybe even more relief arms at the deadline to get this group back on track. If he connects with, say, the Minnesota Twins, here's what the new-look bullpen could look like on Aug. 1:
Role | Player |
|---|---|
Closer | Devin Williams |
Set-up man | Jhoan Duran |
High leverage | Luke Weaver |
High leverage | Danny Coulombe |
Middle relief | Tim Hill |
Middle relief | Mark Leiter Jr. |
Middle relief | Jonathan Loaisiga |
Long man | Will Warren |
Duran and Coulombe won't come cheap, but the Yankees have the arms and the catchers that could entice Minnesota to make a deal; the Twins need every-day players if they want to rebuild themselves into a contender, and for as good as Duran is, he's a luxury right now.
Those two immediately bolster the late-inning formula for Aaron Boone, and a trade for a starter along with the return of Luis Gil could bump either Warren or Cam Schlittler into a multi-inning role in which they could excel. Leiter Jr. is back throwing bullpens and should return at some point in August, while Fernando Cruz won't be too far behind. It's going to take a lot of work, but you can look at the depth chart above and at least talk yourself into something passable. Right now, passable would be a huge improvement.