During the August 3 trade deadline, Brian Cashman solely focused on securing backups for captain Aaron Judge. In the process, he did not deal with one of the New York Yankees’ biggest problem areas: the bullpen. Last season, Cashman added Camilo Doval, David Bednar, and Jake Bird to the roster before the trade deadline. This season, he hoped for the best and bet on his starters staying healthy. A costly gamble that failed.
As another injury hit an already depleted bullpen, an MLB analyst has called out the franchise’s bullpen strategy.
“I have defended a lot about the 2026 Yankees, but the no. 1 thing that I stood on was that they left their bullpen woefully unexposed, and it is not at all surprising to me that injuries are shredding that unit into a massive question mark,” wrote analyst Ryan Garcia on X.
For the stretch run and the playoffs, the Yankees banked on all their starters staying healthy and having Ryan Weathers and Will Warren pitch out of the bullpen. That plan backfired.
Ryan Weathers himself landed on the 15-day IL with a left forearm flexor strain on August 23. Fernando Cruz’s partial UCL tear did not help the Yankees’ case either.
Before the Yankees placed him on the IL on August 26, Cruz had logged a 3.13 ERA in 61 games. The Yankees will end the regular season without Weathers and Cruz on their active roster. Though currently listed as healthy, Max Fried also missed time due to a left elbow bone bruise.
For a bullpen already overworked and having blown multiple leads, the Yankees’ plan to depend on the in-house arms was risky. Their only new veteran relief pitcher was Michael Fulmer.
The Yankees signed Fulmer to a major league contract after the Los Angeles Angels designated him for assignment. During his last outing, the RHP allowed a walk-off two-run homer to Arizona Diamondbacks’ Pavin Smith. Fulmer has logged a 3.21 ERA pitching for the Yankees so far.
Other than that, there are Justin Topa and John Schreiber.
Topa made just two total relief appearances for the pinstripes after his contract was selected on August 25, 2026, pitching three innings total before being designated for assignment in the same month. That same week, they also claimed Schreiber off waivers from the Kansas City Royals.
In his last appearance on Sunday, the reliever added a pair of insurance runs in the 7th inning, the first earned runs in his 8 reliever duties as a Yankee. With a 2.00 ERA and 3 SOs, Schreiber can still bring some hope.
Yet, as the Yankees advance to the playoffs, already navigating numerous issues, bullpen trouble has been added to that long list – one that still ranks No. 1 in the league, with a 3.08 ERA.
On Sunday, Clarke Schmidt was scratched from his scheduled outing against the D-backs.
Before the Yankees’ 8-4 loss, Schmidt was warming up for the game when he felt his right biceps cramping. The issue ultimately kept him out. Schmidt was supposed to make his second relief appearance after returning from Tommy John surgery last Wednesday.
“Nothing structural; it was more precautionary,” Schmidt noted. “Obviously, given the circumstance, coming back from surgery, I don’t want to push through anything. All the testing was fine, nothing with the shoulder, nothing with the elbow. It was more a cramping-type feeling. I had nothing in catch play earlier today, and in the previous days I’ve been feeling very strong. So just very, very minor, just precautionary.”
Tim Hill pitched in his place on Sunday.
He allowed a hit but kept the D-backs scoreless in the ninth.
Schmidt returned to the roster 14 months after he had Tommy John surgery. In his last relief outing against the Minnesota Twins, Schmidt did not complete the inning.
He recorded 2 outs and 2 hits before leaving the mound. The Yankees planned to use him out of the bullpen this season, gradually building up his workload. Only time can tell how well that approach will work out.
“I’m hoping it’s not a big deal, but enough to have him not go into the game,” manager Aaron Boone noted, per the New York Post. “We’ll see what we have there.”
Schmidt will reportedly meet with a doctor once he is back in New York to ascertain whether there is an underlying cause.
While the Yankees bullpen has been the one good part throughout the season, now that the postseason is here, their lack of trade deadline moves may bite them back. Right now, their relievers are simply overworked, and that showed in the Yanks’ 8-4 loss on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In the fifth inning, Brent Headrick allowed a grand slam to Nolan Arenado, and a 4-1 lead game ended in a loss for the pinstripes. It was Headrick’s 79th appearance of the season, and the second most in the majors. So far, he inherited 50 runners, allowing only 5 of them to score, but it was definitely not the same man on Sunday.
“I felt good, just lack of execution and falling behind hitters,” noted Headrick, who was pitching for a second straight day.
Of late, his fastball velocity has been down, and so was the case on Sunday. Now that the Yankees are six games back of the Rays with seven to play, they would need to sweep Tampa in the 4-game series to stay in the division race. Just one win by the Rays will secure them the AL East title, and the Bronx Bombers will have to play for the AL Wild Card.
But if they can secure an early spot in the division, their exposed bullpen would get some rest to step up in the postseason for the ‘unexposed’ part.
With the New York Yankees‘ chance of securing the AL East title going up in smoke, the team will have to prepare for the Wild Card contests. They play the Tampa Bay Rays next on Tuesday – a doubleheader.