Matt Johnson
The New York Yankees entered play on Tuesday with the third-best record (7-2) and third-highest run differential (+25) in baseball, sitting atop the American League before a three-game series against the Athletics. However, there’s one specific part of this Yankees roster that is facing some skepticism.
Speaking to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, one MLB scout was rather blunt with his assessment that the “Yankees bullpen stinks” this season.
This is coming off Sunday’s 7–6 loss at Yankee Stadium to the Miami Marlins, a game in which Max Fried allowed just 3 earned runs across 6.2 innings pitched and had a shot at the win. However, those hopes got wiped out by Fernando Cruz and Jake Bird coming out of the Yankees bullpen.
New York acquired Cruz back in December 2024 in exchange for Jose Trevino. While he struggled this past outing, the right-handed reliever leads the team in holds (three) this season and still sports a 2.70 ERA with a 0.60 WHIP and more strikeouts (six) than baserunners allowed (two) in five appearances.
Bird, who the team acquired from the Colorado Rockies at the MLB trade deadline this past July, has struggled since joining New York. The right-handed reliever made three appearances with the Yankees last season after the trade, surrendering 6 earned runs with 4 hits and 2 walks, resulting in a 27.00 ERA. He spent the rest of the season in the minors. After stringing together 4.1 shutout innings to open this season, Bird imploded at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.
Entering play on Tuesday, the Yankees bullpen currently tanks 10th in WHIP (1.21), 11th in ERA (3.23), 15th in batting average allowed (.231) and 25th in strikeout rate. However, it’s north noting that the ERA for New York’s relievers lowers to 2.35 if you remove the 3 earned runs allowed by Bird against Miami when he failed to record an out.
Through nine games, Bird (6.23 ERA) and Camilo Doval (10.80 ERA and 1.80 WHIP) are the only Yankees relievers with an ERA over 4.2. While All-Star closer David Bednar (4.15 ERA and 2.31 WHIP) has been shaky to start the season, it’s also worth noting that he registered a 2.19 ERA and 0.93 WHIP with 10 saves after being acquired by New York last summer. So, while the MLB scout might not be high on the Yankees bullpen, only two relievers are really the issue right now.
