Yankees have the worst bullpen of any playoff team

At the trade deadline, the Yankees opted to upgrade their bullpen. They acquired Jake Bird, David Bednar and Camilo Doval. The last two guys are capable of ending games.

So, with Bednar, Doval, Luke Weaver and… Devin Williams (for what it's worth), the Yankees had four closers. On paper, it was a very good bullpen.

Jake Bird quickly moved up to AAA. Camilo Doval lost all his bearings when he arrived in New York. And Williams… continued to bog down, being a nuisance to the club.

In fact, it's quite symptomatic of the state of the bullpen in general. Why is that? Because since the trade deadline, the bullpen has had an average of 5.71. That's the worst in the league.

In that span only David Bednar (2.75 ERA) and Tim Hill (4.40 ERA) have an ERA below that mark among Yankees relievers who have made at least 5 appearances in that span. # Yankees #RepBX

– Russ Gardiner (@CharlieRGa) September 17, 2025

Bednar (it's a good thing he's here) and Tim Hill are the only regulars to have averaged less than 5.71 over that span.

The problem is, even if the club has good starters and Aaron Judge exists, we know that in the playoffs, the bullpen is where the series can be won – and lost.

And in New York, right now, the level of optimism isn't great on this subject.

Unless you trust the Diamondbacks to make the playoffs this season, we see that the Yankees have the worst bullpen, year-to-date, among the teams that will make the playoffs in 2025.

The Phillies are right up there… but let's not forget that Jhoan Duran didn't start the season in Pennsylvania. So the Phillies' bullpen is better than the Yankees' right now.

Will this sink the Bombardiers in the playoffs? Because if it does, the club's ugly defense will go through the butter and we'll only be talking about the relievers…

This content was created with the help of AI.