Matt Johnson
Carlos Lagrange, one of the New York Yankees’ top prospects, is one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the minors and on the doorstep of making his MLB debut. However, that timeline could be accelerated even more if the club follows through on ongoing discussions.
Brian Cashman recently told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the organization is having “ongoing discussions” about moving Lagrange to the bullpen at some point this season.
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- Carlos Lagrange stats (FanGraphs): 4.41 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 29% K-rate, 17.5% K-BB rate in 49 innings pitched
Standing at 6-foot-7, Lagrange is coming off a recent start at Triple-A where he hit 99.8 mph on the radar gun in the sixth inning. It was his longest outing of the season, covering 5.2 innings with just 3 hits and 1 earned run allowed. Far more importantly, he allowed just a single walk across 21 batters faced.
Command remains the 23-year-old’s biggest issue. He has an 11.5 percent walk rate this season, significantly lowering his K-BB rate (17.5 percent) despite striking out 29 percent of batters faced this season.
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Notably, per FanGraphs, Lagrange has thrown a first-pitch strike just 46.5 percent of the time this season. For comparison, fellow top prospect Elmer Rodriguez has a 51.8 percent first-pitch strike rate at Triple-A in 2026.
Both FanGraphs and Baseball America have viewed the hard-throwing righty as a future reliever. While moving him into the bullpen wouldn’t guarantee that he stays there, success could influence the club’s long-term plans.
Starting pitching depth is also a hurdle Lagrange would have to overcome. He’s buried behind the likes of Rodriguez, Clarke Schmidt, Ryan Weathers, Will Warren, Carlos Rodón, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole and Cam Schlittler. Even if multiple injuries strike again, there’s no short-term path for him to make the Yankees’ rotation.
That’s why both his short- and long-term future might come as a reliever. Given that the Yankees’ bullpen could use reinforcements, it’s reasonable to think that Cashman calls up Lagrange this summer and gives him an audition to see whether he can stick around before tapping into the farm system to acquire proven relievers at the MLB trade deadline.
