Yankees' New Role for Paul Blackburn Could Be October Preview in Disguise

The Yankees bullpen has seen a familiar face emerge as a more prominent member of its staff.

Paul Blackburn's season-long outlook with the Yankees is becoming clear. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If someone were to put out a Yankees bingo card before the season starts, would there even be a space that says "Paul Blackburn notches a two-out save in the final game of the first half?" Even in an age where gambling apps have a bet for everything, it's hard to imagine that any oddsmaker could've seen that one coming.

Whether anybody could have guessed it or not, that is the reality of the situation. Blackburn has emerged as one of the many bright spots of the organization, and, for all the love Paul Goldschmidt gets as a thrifty add for the Yankees this off-season, the Bombers' resident long-man-turned-1996-Jeff-Nelson-type pen arm should be right up there with him.

Sunday's two-out save against a Nationals team whose 108 wRC+ is fourth in all of baseball and leads the National League in homers with 138 wasn't just some fluky outing either. Blackburn has done this for a bit now.

While he isn't exactly a strikeout artist, Blackburn has induced a ton of soft contact since May 1. Opposing batters have a 28.7% hard-hit rate and 7.9% barrel rate, according to Baseball Savant. On top of that, he has allowed seven runs in his last 35 2/3 innings. He has 13 total in 2026.

This is the type of player a team would hope to acquire at the trade deadline. The thing with Blackburn is that he has been here the whole time, and is only making a cool $2 million at that. That being said, his recent run could shed light on how the Yankees could use him later this season.

Yankees should give Paul Blackburn a more prominent bullpen role

If there is one thing the Yankees should do from here on out, it's give Tim Hill fewer opportunities and more to Blackburn.

Granted, Blackburn is a righty, and Hill is a southpaw, but it does feel like the Yankees have gotten the most out of their crafty reliever, who played a big part in piecing together manager Aaron Boone's bullpen during their World Series run.

Hill, unfortunately, has allowed 20 runs in 36 innings. That is already close to his total from last year, when he allowed 27 in 67 innings. What's worse is that righties have a 1.033 OPS against Hill. While it is true that Boone's lane is that of a guy who can get lefties out, this is across 62 plate appearances. It's close to the 82 he has had against righties.

It's time for the Yankees to consider giving some of Tim Hill's opportunities to Paul Blackburn. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

During a period when the lefty specialist role has been somewhat neutralized by the three-batter minimum rule, if Hill is getting slammed by righties, it's hard to imagine that Boone wouldn't give Blackburn the type of run Hill gets. You hate to get on a player who has been dependable for the most part, but Blackburn is simply more well-rounded against righties and lefties.

Righties have a .570 OPS against him. Lefties have a .599.

As things stand, Boone has some time to play around with his bullpen. They should absolutely add at the deadline and approach it as if they were working with the desolate group they believed they had heading into the year.

Despite that, Blackburn has a real shot at getting important postseason innings. He has certainly earned it and the Yankees must realize that.