This Brent Headrick Trend Is Starting to Feel Impossible for Yankees to Ignore

The southpaw has quietly been the Yankees' best reliever this season.

The Yankees' bullpen would be in a much worse spot if it weren't for Brent Headrick's strong performance. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Yankees’ bullpen is one position that could be upgraded between now and the MLB trade deadline next month. ManagerAaron Boone’s bullpen has been under the microscope this season due to the inconsistent performances from Camilo Doval, David Bednar, Tim Hill, Ryan Yarbrough, etc.

The good news for Yankees fans is that Bednar has turned things around and looks like the guy New York thought it was getting when they acquired him last season. Another Yankees reliever who has been flying under the radar in terms of the majors but has been excellent in his role is Brent Headrick.

The 28-year-old southpaw has quietly been one of the best hurlers out of the bullpen, whether that’s sixth, seventh, or eighth innings. No matter what Boone asks from him, Headrick gets the job done.

This season, the 6-foot-6 left-handed relief pitcher has a 5-1 record and a career-best 1.46 ERA in 49 appearances (career-high). Furthermore, Headrick has surrendered 38 hits, 17 walks, and eight earned runs (two home runs), while striking out 57 in 49.1 innings.

In fact, when Headrick is on the mound, he keeps the opposition at bay, as he hasn’t allowed an earned run in 41 of his 49 relief outings this season.

Brent Headrick has not allowed a run in 41 of his 49 relief appearances, the most in the Majors 🔒 pic.twitter.com/s64O1io76z

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 20, 2026

Headrick's season-long is nothing short of impressive and is something Boone can’t look past.

Brent Headrick thrives no matter the situation the Yankees put him in

When you think about a relief pitcher who had 32 appearances before this season, not giving up a run in that many appearances, it speaks volumes about his stuff and how he thrives in various situations.

This season, when Headrick is on the mound with RISP (runners in scoring position) and 2 outs, opponents are hitting an ugly .040 at the plate. Those stats coincide with what the southpaw has done in high-leverage spots this season, holding opponents to a .170 batting average and an .549 OPS.

Furthermore, between the seventh and ninth innings this season, opponents are hitting .229 against Headrick, but his ERA is 1.02. Even though his walk rate is 8.5%, which is higher than where it was last season (7.6%). Headrick isn’t giving up a lot of hard contact (36.5%) and is inducing a fair amount of ground balls (34.6%, second-best mark of his career).

Brent Hedrick isn't allowing many opportunities to opposing batters. And when he does, the Yankees' stud reliever isn't giving up much. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When you have all of those things working for you on the mound, it's a recipe for success. In Sunday night’s win over the Dodgers, Headrick had a clean two innings as New York went with a bullpen game for the second game of their doubleheader. The southpaw continued the trend of reliability and what has worked this month, giving up no hits, zero walks, and striking out three on 22 pitches.

Through eight appearances this month, the Illinois native has had one game where he gave up an earned run (July 9 vs. Tampa) and a game where he allowed a walk (July 11 vs. Nationals).

Besides those two blips on his monthly chart, Headrick has been nearly perfect, and if you’re the Yankees, you hope this continues, as he could become a viable weapon down the stretch where the games mean more.