New York Yankees Underrated Reliever Has Surprisingly Been Among Most Valuable in MLB

The New York Yankees star has been among the most underrated and valuable pitchers in all of baseball.

Apr 12, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Luke Weaver (30) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. | Tom Horak-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees have made some questionable moves in free agency over the last couple of seasons but one move from late in 2023 has proven to be a massive success.

Back in September of 2023, the Yankees claimed then-struggling reliever Luke Weaver off of waivers after he was designated for assignment by the Seattle Mariners.

Weaver had a career 5.14 ERA over his first eight seasons in MLB. Since the start of 2024, following his first full offseason in New York, that has improved to a 2.59 ERA mark.

This season alone, he has pitched 10 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts and just two hits allowed. His walk rate is up a bit, but it hasn't come back to bite him at all, obviously. His WHIP is still just 0.700.

The 31-year-old has a win probability added of 1.13 this season, which is the sixth-best mark for a pitcher in all of MLB. It is the highest on the team, with Aaron Judge being at 0.85.

WPA is a very important stat for relievers, since it is all about the context of each appearance. The Yankees have called on Weaver in big moments and he has delivered.

The move to New York has been a win-win for both parties. The Florida-native was a first round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals back in 2014, but never really lived up to those expectations.

Ironically, he was traded away initially in the deal that sent Paul Goldschmidt to the Cardinals. Now, the two are teammates and have been major reasons that the Yankees are atop the AL East despite their starting pitching woes.

Weaver's career has really been saved by New York's pitching coaches. He went from a fringe MLB pitcher to an elite bullpen arm.

The improvement on his fastball has been one of the main reasons he has found success.

In the three seasons prior to him coming to the team, his Stuff+ on the pitch peaked at 86. The past two campaigns, it has been at 106 and 102. While the velocity hasn't jumped up, the movement on it has become filthy.

They also helped him cut the slider out of his pitch mix, which was one of his worst attributes. It was getting raked on, but he still threw it about 14% of the time.

As long as the pitching staff continues to struggle, having someone like Weaver to lean on afterwards is a true blessing.