Yankees' Carlos Lagrange Shines in First Triple-A Relief Appearance

He has his sights set on a spot in New York's bullpen

Feb 21, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Lagrange (84) throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers during the second inning in a Spring Training game at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

One of the New York Yankees' top pitching prospects, right-hander Carlos Lagrange, officially transitioned to the bullpen on Wednesday. And in his first Triple-A game as a reliever, the 6-foot-7 flamethrower didn't miss a beat.

Lagrange, the Yankees' No. 4 prospect for 2026 on MLB Pipeline, picked up the win on the mound after tossing four scoreless innings of relief for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Wednesday. The 23-year-old gave up just one hit and two walks while racking up seven strikeouts in the RailRiders' 6-3 victory over the Triple-A Syracuse Mets. He even hit 101.4 mph on the radar gun with his fastball in this outing.

The YES Network's Jack Curry first reported on New York's plan to move Lagrange to the Triple-A bullpen on Tuesday. While the Yankees still view the hard-throwing righty as a future starter in their rotation, their current goal is for him to gain experience as a reliever in the minors so he can be a factor in the big league bullpen later this year. And even though he's only made one relief appearance so far this season, the experiment is off to a solid start.

Carlos Lagrange could bring the heat out of the Yankees' bullpen later this year

Feb 27, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Lagrange (84) throws a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the fourth inning during spring training at Lee Health Sports Complex/Hammond Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

When New York manager Aaron Boone talked to the media on Tuesday about Lagrange's shift to the bullpen, he said that the team will likely look to see how he performs as a reliever over "several weeks," according to the New York Daily News' Gary Phillips. Phillips also reported on a "de-load period" for the tall righty, who will now go from throwing a lot of pitches once or twice a week to multiple short outings with fewer days off in between.

All that suggests it's going to be some time before Lagrange is a realistic option to make his MLB debut out of the bullpen, regardless of how well he pitches as a reliever. It's also important to remember that this is the young hurler's first taste of Triple-A action, and he just turned 23 at the end of May. But so far, the top prospect has posted a 4.08 ERA in 12 Triple-A games (11 starts) this year, with 70 strikeouts in 53 innings.

If Lagrange can successfully adjust to pitching out of the bullpen, it's easy to envision him throwing his triple-digit heater in the Bronx at some point this season.