Yankees Fans Can't Let Angel Chivilli's ERA Fool Them

At 23-years-old, the New York Yankees decided to take a chance on Angel Chivilli.

Looking at his numbers last year, it comes as no surprise that Yankees fans are already jumping to conclusions.

While a 7.06 ERA is far from great, one immediately has to take into consideration how many times Chivilli pitched at Coors Field. The elevation certainly didn't help the second-year Colorado Rockies player, and a change of scenery should do wonders for his career.

Even though his WAR went from 0.2 to -0.7, Chivilli still has a ton of potential. He's extremely young and has an incredible fastball that should peak Yankees fans' attention.

Chivilli Brings A Lot To The Table

The New York Yankees today announced that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Angel Chivilli from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for minor league infielder T.J. Rumfield.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) January 28, 2026

One of the main things Yankees fans need to realize is that Chivilli is not a strikeout pitcher. He was in the bottom five percent of the league last year as his K% sat at 15.6%. That was indeed down from his rookie season, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be taken seriously.

Not every pitcher is going on the mound to strike out every batter they face. If anything, the Yankees need more guys like Chivilli who force batters to groundout. They could use him in an extended role, if needed, to eat up middle innings. For reference, last year he pitched 58.2 innings in 43 games played.

He had a 49.8 GB% last year which put him in the 84% percentile. That's a huge number, and nearly half of his at-bats resulted in a ground ball. Giving up 76 hits in those 58.2 innings is far from ideal, but moving away from Colorado should see far less of this hits turn into runs.

Yankees May Have Found A Gem

"There's a lot to work with there. We think we've just added a really nice quality arm to already an array of quality arms that we have"

Brian Cashman talks about the decision to trade for Angel Chivilli pic.twitter.com/t0ZA0qPxgn
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) January 28, 2026

Knowing all it took was minor league infielder T.J. Rumfield to pull this trade off, this could be one that Yankees fans look back at during the middle of the season and see as a steal. There are no guarantees that Chivilli turns things around, though all signs are pointing in the right direction.

The Yankees knew they still had a few issues to address after re-signing Cody Bellinger, and one of those involved their middle bullpen. Chivilli has appeared in 73 games but hasn't started a single one. He sports a 3-8 career record, though that should be taken with a grain of salt. Even though his numbers trended in the wrong direction last year, the Yankees have a ton of time to get him up to speed and fix the issues that held him back in Colorado.

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