New York Yankees Bullpen Has Been Dominating Its Competition

The New York Yankees bullpen has come out of nowhere as one of baseball's best.
Apr 29, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Clay Holmes (35) throws a ninth
Apr 29, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Clay Holmes (35) throws a ninth / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
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The New York Yankees have been one of baseball's best team in 2024 and the bullpen is playing a key role in why.

The New York bullpen was not given a lot of respect heading into the season, not making the preseason top 10 of MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. In reality, though, they may be the best unit in baseball.

So far this season, the Yankees bullpen leads all of baseball with just a 2.37 ERA and are second in holding their oppenents to just a .191 BA.

The unit way outperforming expectations right now, as they haven't given up an earned run in 17.2 innings of work.

Clay Holmes' individual performance has stood out as one of baseball's most effective closers. He has allowed no earned runs over 15 innings of work and is tied for second in the MLB with 10 saves.

Holmes is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, but the Yankees could always work out a contract extension. Securing him should be an offseason priority.

No relief pitchers on their squad with more than one apperance have an ERA over 5.00 this season and Caleb Ferguson is the only pitcher over 4.00.

When you look under the hood, the New York bullpen might be getting a little bit lucky, but that's not to say they haven't been pitching well.

They rank 11th in FIP, 22nd in xFIP and 8th in SIERA. Their stuff has been working though, as the staff is top five in WHIP and first in BABIP.

Even if there is going to be some regression, as the numbers suggest, they've earned their spot among baseaball's best bullpens.

They are keeping them in games over a stretch of the Yankees offense only scoring six runs over their last five games heading into Saturday.

It's even more impressive that they've been able to keep up such a pace despite being riddle with injuries. Jonathan Loaisiga is out for the year with a Tommy John surgery and Nick Burdi is out with hip inflammation. They could be getting Tommy Kahnle back soon, though.

Healthy or not, the New York bullpen has been fun to watch in 2024.


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Dylan Sanders

DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders