Yankees Worked Through Their Biggest Deadline Failure (and It's Coming Together at the Perfect Time)

The New York Yankees may have officially remedied their biggest flaw and largest worry.

New York Yankees relief pitcher John Schreiber has helped solidify the backend of the bullpen. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nobody denies that Luis Garcia Jr. has been one of the best adds at the trade deadline. Give the New York Yankees credit for that one. Garcia has a chance to be a star in the Bronx in a way he never could have with the Washington Nationals. The issue most fans and analysts had with the deadline wasn't that they added the lefty bopper, but that they didn't address a need they've had for the last two years: the bullpen.

Give the Yankees credit here, though, because the bullpen has been awesome since the trade deadline. Since August 4th, the Yankees have actually had the best bullpens in the sport. Their 2.88 ERA leads all of baseball. They're also the only team to have an ERA under three during this time. Pete Alonso's Baltimore Orioles, who are clawing into the wild-card race, are just below them with a 3.02 ERA.

New York Yankees relief pitcher David Bednar has been one of the stalwarts in the bullpen. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Statistically, the Yankees have been great all year in the pen, too. It's been one of the team's underrated facets, even if it felt like it could have gone either way the whole time, constantly skirting disaster and coming out unscathed — mostly due to the emergence of Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick behind David Bednar.

Currently, the pen's 3.09 ERA for the year leads the league. Right under them is the Boston Red Sox with a 3.10 ERA.

Fixing the bullpen on the fly

The big fear with this bullpen was the fact that guys like Blackburn and Headrick were being overused and overexposed. The Yankees remedied that by using the waiver wire pretty masterfully. For one, it took a little luck, but adding veteran reliever John Schreiber has saved the pen. Thank the Kansas City Royals for feeling that they needed to dump some salary so late in the season. The rare instance where cheap ownership was a good thing.

No, he isn't a superstar like Mason Miller, but they just needed a middle reliever who can give them quality outings in the middle or late innings. Put Schreiber in a game at any point, and the veteran will do his job. So far so good.

Schreiber has posted zeroes in every outing, but his most important assignment has been giving the Yankees length when Aaron Boone brings him in.

New York Yankees relief pitcher John Schreiber has given the bullpen a nice boost down the stretch. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Schreiber has pitched in seven games. He has pitched in more than one inning in four of them. He likely would have given his team length again in his most recent outing with the Twins, were it not for George Lombard Jr. fumbling a ball and letting it get behind him.

Michael Fulmer has been pretty solid as well. He won't find himself in high-leverage situations when Boone calls to him, but he can give his manager quality innings, taking the weight off the big horses in Blackburn, Headrick, and Bednar. Fulmer, who had one foot in retirement, has pitched in eight games for the Yankees. He has allowed two earned runs in seven innings. Fulmer also has eight strikeouts and has held opposing batters to an average exit velocity of 86.5 MPH.

Look, Fulmer and Schreiber aren't the hottest names in baseball, but they don't have to be. They have to get outs.

They also aren't the only additions to this bullpen either. Clarke Schmidt is back, and he notched a few strikeouts himself in his return. Ryan Weathers will be back too, and Will Warren will join them in the bullpen by the time October rolls around.

It's been a year-long process, but the Yankees could conceivably have the best bullpen of any postseason team. The issue won't be which arm Boone goes to in the postseason, but whether they'll hit. That's the most significant question for the Yankees this season as they wait for more news on Aaron Judge.

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