The Yankees’ bullpen has seen a lot of turnover this offseason. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver departed in free agency, both later signing with the Mets. The club non-tendered Jake Cousins, Scott Effross, Mark Leiter Jr., and Ian Hamilton. Jonathan Loaisiga saw his club option declined, while Allan Winans was released to pursue an opportunity in Japan.
The club did pick up their option on lefty Tim Hill and re-sign Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn as depth pieces. Still, the bullpen looks thinner than last year behind Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, and closer David Bednar. What options do the Yankees have in the system at present? Let’s take a look at the possibilities.
Along with Bednar and Doval, Bird was one of three key bullpen acquisitions that the Yankees made at the 2025 trade deadline. Unfortunately, he was the least productive of the three. Bird made three appearances in early August, allowing six earned runs on four hits, two home runs, and two unintentional walks in just two innings. On August 5, New York optioned him to Triple-A, where he stayed for the remainder of the season.
Bird has pitched 232 1/3 big-league innings with a 4.76 ERA since debuting in 2022. He owns a career 21.1% strikeout rate and a 9.8% walk rate, although he upped his strikeout rate to an above-average 26.6% in 55 1/3 innings in 2025. In addition to the strikeouts, he has a 70th-percentile groundball rate that could play up with strong infield defense from Ryan McMahon, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Anthony Volpe (if he regains his Gold Glove-caliber defense following shoulder surgery). Bird also has a plus sweeper and curveball according to Statcast, though he’ll need to improve his sinker (-6 run value) if he plans to compete for middle- and high-leverage innings.
The Yankees claimed Headrick off waivers from the Twins in February 2025. He was shuffled between Triple-A and the majors, pitching 23 big-league innings in 17 appearances before ending the year on the injured list with a left forearm contusion. The results were serviceable. Headrick posted a 3.13 ERA with similar peripherals and struck out 32.6% of hitters against a 7.6% walk rate. That said, despite being a left-handed pitcher, he showed pretty drastic reverse platoon splits in 2025, allowing a .922 OPS with four home runs to lefty batters compared to a .484 OPS against righties.
Headrick is primarily a fastball-slider pitcher. His fastball has slightly-below-average velocity, and he allowed a 50.0% hard-hit rate against the pitch in 2025. His slider could be a useful pitch, as he struck out 44.4% of hitters on the pitch in a limited sample this year. At present, with Yarbrough figuring to start the year in the rotation, Headrick is the only lefty in the bullpen aside from Hill. That said, he may be best utilized as a depth arm given his hard-hit rates and struggles against same-handed pitching.
The Yankees selected Winquest from the Cardinals’ system in the Rule 5 Draft last month. The 25-year-old righty was an eighth-round pick in 2022 and split the 2025 season between High-A and Double-A. In 106 innings across both levels, Winquest posted a 3.99 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate and an 8.5% walk rate. He lowered his ERA from 4.52 in 63 2/3 High-A innings to 3.19 in 42 1/3 innings at Double-A. He also displayed improved control by lowering his walk rate, although his groundball rate declined sharply from 55.6% to 36.7%. As with any Rule 5 pick, it would be a surprise to see Winquest last the entire year on the major-league roster. He would be best used in low-leverage spots.
De los Santos was shuffled between Triple-A and the majors for most of the year, making 25 big-league appearances with a 3.28 ERA in 35 2/3 innings. On the plus side, he got groundballs at a well-above-average rate of 55.4% and allowed just 0.25 HR/9. He used his mid-90s sinker 54.6% of the time to great effect, with a run value of six according to Statcast. On the down side, his strikeout and walk rates were worse than average. His breaking pitches both had negative run values, making it easier for hitters to time up the sinker. De los Santos has one option year remaining, so he’ll continue to function as a depth piece.
Elmer Rodriguez / Chase Hampton
Rodriguez and Hampton were added to the 40-man roster in November for Rule 5 protection. They are the team’s No. 3 and No. 8 prospects according to MLB.com. Hampton missed the entire 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery and only pitched 18 2/3 innings in 2024. He looks like the longer shot to contribute in the big-league bullpen, though his plus fastball and slider combo may earn him looks later in the summer. Rodriguez has the higher upside of the two. He reached Triple-A in 2025 and pitched 150 innings in total across three levels, posting a 2.58 ERA with a 29.0% strikeout rate. Like Hampton, Rodriguez’s fastball and slider both grade as plus pitches. He will be in the mix but will need to work on his control if he is to stick in the majors.
______________________
As things currently stand, the Yankees’ bullpen has a mix of youth and depth options. Of the six players mentioned here, Bird has the most big-league experience, though he’ll need to re-establish himself after a rough introduction to New York over the summer. Rodriguez also has potential given his minor-league track record and high strikeout rate. That said, the other four profile as depth arms or have injury (Hampton) or durability concerns (Winquest). That leaves Bednar and Cruz as the high-leverage options, with Doval having a closer pedigree but coming off his own uneven debut in New York. Overall, the bullpen looks top-heavy and needs at least one or two reinforcements.
In the years since the Aroldis Chapman and Zack Britton deals, the team has been reluctant to sign high-leverage relievers to long-term contracts. They could opt to raise the bullpen’s floor by adding affordable middle relievers with big-league experience, as well as another proven lefty to complement Hill. Andrew Chafin fits the mold and is currently available in free agency. Although he missed time with injuries, he continued to dominate left-handed hitters in 2025, allowing just a .454 OPS against them. If the Yankees want to focus on high-leverage arms, they could look to the trade market instead, perhaps by re-engaging the Cardinals on JoJo Romero.
Estrada from Pads is a deal waiting to happen?
So is a JoJo Romero.
Nah pass on all those guys. The Yankee bullpen is the least of their problems.
Cashman excels as GM not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him
I’d rather work something out for Peralta, and Matsui.
If management goes with this synopsis it Sounds like they got it all sorted out… sorry my eye roll got locked on an upper vertebrae.
Right now NYY offseason is a D, bordering on a D- …. there is still time, but NYY fans are not hopeful
As fans and commenters we are all impatient for the “big” trade or acquisition……regardless of rumors and predictions, you still have to play 162 to figure out who goes forward into the playoffs and who doesn’t…..the Yankees seem to find a way into the playoffs….the disappointing issue is that they just haven’t been able to win the WS since 09 and the clock is ticking on Judge etc…..
Throughout much of Judge’s tenure, the Yankees seem to go into every season with at least one major question mark they neglected to address in the offseason. Second/third base last year. Left field for a number of years. Hoping for bounce back seasons from guys like Verdugo, Rizzo, Goldy, etc. Roster construction and depth has been a big issue. Just because Hal and Cash say they’ve built a team worthy of a championship doesn’t mean fans believe it. They do just enough to remain competitive in the division but rarely are they considered the top team in the league entering the season.
Agree with almost all….however, fans will never be satisfied even with a WS trophy ….their competitive record is pretty good compared to the rest of the league……even with a lack of playoff success once in….but the key fact is they have been “in” better than 90% of years since 2009…other teams fans would kill for that success rate I would think….
1. The offseason isn’t over and there’s a ton of free agents out there as well plenty of trades to explore.
2. I already said this elsewhere but getting back Bellinger would bring us back to full strength offensively. If not him, I’m sure there will be another target.
3. As for pitching: We essentially already replaced Williams and Weaver at the deadline with Bednar and Doval. The options listed above can be as good as those others we let go. And the rotation has plenty of reinforcements coming from the IL as the season goes on.
4. This team competed last season with the same. Not every offseason needs to be a full on splurge. But bringing it back to my first point to close, this offseason is far from over…
Yankees are wasting Cole and Judge prime years. They should be flooring the accelerator right now before those two start getting too old, which clock is ticking…
If 2026 is actually a Cole “prime year”, they would have a staff headed by two stoppers followed by at least two #2 guys,
Are wasting Cole prime years? Have wasted Cole prime years.
Yep, Cole is 35 and coming off elbow surgery. His prime is long gone.
Depending on his recovery, maybe consider bringing back Jake Cousins,
I get there’s still a lot of pieces on the board but damn i mean if you don’t win typically you’d try to get better for next year and the yanks are not better right now. Improvements are:
Full year of cole, schlittler, Gil, bednar, more AB’s for Rice, jazz at 2B full time, mcmahon at 3B all year, hopefully healthy volpe and caballero around all year. Maybe warren steps forward in year 2. Rosario around as bench improvement.
Losses potentially bellinger. Williams and weaver gone, in addition to other bp depth pieces. Minus some minor league depth because of deadline trades. Will grisham repeat? Goldy gone, wasn’t great but mashed lefties in a lineup that generally struggles vs lhp, hasn’t quite been replaced.
I think if belli is signed and the bullpen is even fortified just a bit a case can be made that a 94 win team has ever so slightly improved. But when you’re as close as the Yankees are you look for put me over the top moves.
Yankees will add bullpen depth but i wouldn’t expect anything major barring a trade for Romero. Probably add guys on minor league contracts or see who gets cut in spring training
The 4.76 ERA for Bird needs more context. 230 innings of that was as a Rocky. His ERA+ was 106 for that spell, so a bit above average. Yes, he had severe problems in the Yankee’s system, but over 17.2 innings. He’s only 30, so has a decent chance for a bounce back.
He also wasn’t very good away from Coors.
You’re right. Maybe he should go back to the Rockies then. More valuable there than elsewhere.
Rodriguez-Cruz a good fall back plan.
I think Yerry De Los Santos sticks all year. Sinker-baller, great GB / HR/9 rates. He is a good option in the top of the sixth.
Grumble…..grumble some more. They brought in all this “talent” last year….and don’t seem to have much for it.