Sal Grades The Yanks (Bullpen)

By Sal Maiorana

November 2024

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Sal Maiorana, a friend of the site, shares some of his thoughts on the Yankees.

For Sal's complete analysis on the New York Yankees, you can subscribe to Sal Maiorana's free Pinstripe People Newsletter at https://salmaiorana.beehiiv.com/subscribe.

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2024 Bullpen Grades: Not As Bad As It Seemed

It certainly wasn’t like 2023 when the Yankees’ bullpen had the best ERA (3.34) in MLB, or 2022 when it had the third-best (2.97), or even 2021 when it was  ourth-best (3.57). But while we all at times screamed long and hard - mostly at Clay Holmes - this actually wasn’t a terrible bullpen. Here’s the fourth and final installment of my report cards. Lets get to it.

For so many years, we were spoiled by Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer in the history of MLB.

When that dude walked out of the bullpen, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” blaring over the loudspeakers at Yankee Stadium, and you knew the game was over. It’s almost unbelievable to consider that Rivera saved an MLB-record 652 games for the Yankees and he blew only 72 in his 1,115 appearances, understanding that not all of those appearances came in save situations.

Clay Holmes blew 13 saves in 67 appearances in 2024 and as a team, the Yankees blew 21.

Overall, the bullpen performed admirably, especially considering that Brian Cashman whiffed on a couple offseason free agent signings in Caleb Ferguson and Victor Gonzalez, acquired vastly underwhelming Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos at the trade deadline, and in between was using baling wire and duct tape to keep things together by signing retreads like Michael Tonkin, Tim Hill, Jake Cousins, Nick Burdi, Tim Mayza, and Dennis Santana.

In all, 25 different relief pitchers appeared for the Yankees and somehow, they finished with a 3.62 ERA which was sixth-best in MLB, had a 1.240 WHIP which was 10th, and opponents batted .223 which was eighth-best.

Digging a little deeper, there were obvious problems as the Yankees’ bullpen had a 3.50 walks per nine innings ratio which was 20th, it’s 9.15 strikeouts per nine was only 14th, and its left on base percentage (meaning stranding inherited runners) was 12th at 72.6%. All of these numbers were mundane, and it was impressive that the Yankees won 94 games and the AL East in spite of these deficiencies.

I limited my grading to relievers who had at least 25 appearances, even though that included a couple who were not on the team at the end of the season, so I didn’t bother with guys like Leiter (21 games), Santana (23), Ron Marinaccio (16), Mayza (15) and Burdi (12).

Luke Weaver: A

• W-L: 7-3

• ERA: 2.89

• GP: 62

• SV: 4

• IP: 84.0

• WHIP: 0.929

• BB/9: 2.8

• K/9: 11.0

Weaver’s career was flat-lining in 2023, a failed starter with a career 5.05 ERA and 1.440 WHIP for the Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Royals, Reds and Mariners when the Yankees took a flier on him late that season after the Mariners released him.

Weaver started three times in late September in games that meant nothing because the Yankees were out of the postseason chase, and he actually pitched OK, and that led Cashman to offer him a $2 million contract for 2024, with a team option for 2025 at $2.5 million. Well, the Yankees happily picked up that option because Weaver turned out to be their best reliever.

Batters hit just .176 against him, and in high leverage situations after he became the closer, it was a piddly .078 as he faced 61 men and struck out 24. Overall, his 31.1% strikeout rate was the best on the team, as was his 0.929 WHIP.

And then in the postseason, the first time he had ever pitched in October, he had a 1.76 ERA and saved four games, though he also blew three. Two of those came in the World Series but neither were his fault as he entered Games 1 and 5 trying to clean up messes made by Tommy Kahnle, and then he got burned by the Yankees’ defense in both.

Clay Holmes: C-

• W-L: 3-5

• ERA: 3.14

• GP: 67

• SV: 30

• IP: 63.0

• WHIP: 1.302

• BB/9: 3.1

• K/9: 9.7

Good riddance to Holmes who is now a free agent. He was one of the most maddening players on the team, and for large swaths of 2024, every time he entered a game you just feared the worst and that’s no way to live with your closer. Thirteen blown saves is mind-boggling, as was his 1.302 WHIP because in the ninth inning, you can’t survive like that, which the Yankees finally recognized in September when they replaced Holmes with Weaver.

Across his four seasons with the Yankees Holmes obviously had some terrific performances, and he had a combined ERA of 2.74 and a WHIP of 1.116, but in 2024, in both of those important categories he regressed steadily each season. Before the 13 blown saves in 2024, he had only 10 in 54 opportunities from 2021-23.

Tommy Kahnle: B+

• W-L: 0-2

• ERA: 2.11

• GP: 50

• SV: 1

• IP: 42.2

• WHIP: 1.148

• BB/9: 4.0

• K/9: 9.7

The 35-year-old Kahnle is also a free agent and I don’t think the Yankees will look to bring him back. He was moderately effective in his first stint with the team from 2017-20, then he sat out 2021 after Tommy John surgery and pitched in 2022 for the Dodgers before coming back to the Yankees in 2023. Since then, when he’s been healthy, he’s been a good man to have in the bridge innings from six through eight and in 2024 his 2.11 ERA was the best of his career.

However, his over-reliance on his changeup was starting to get annoying at the end, and in the last two years he has averaged four walks per nine innings and his 25.7% strikeout rate in 2024 was his lowest since 2016. The Yankees not only need to get younger in the bullpen, but they need to find more lively arms than what Kahnle now has because they have to miss more bats next season.

Jake Cousins: B

• W-L: 2-1

• ERA: 2.37

• GP: 37

• SV: 1

• IP: 38.0

• WHIP: 1.148

• BB/9: 4.7

• K/9: 12.6

When the Yankees purchased him at the end of spring training from the White Sox for $740,000, it looked like a nothing move. But he went to Triple-A and showed some promise, came up to the Yankees in late June, and his wipeout slider earned him Aaron Boone’s trust as he became a fixture in the leverage innings.

Batters hit just .154 against him, but his control was occasionally an issue as reflected by his walk rate. That was partially why his inherited runners scored percentage of 50% was one of the worst figures in the bullpen. Still, in his 37 games he gave up runs (and never more than two) in only eight.

Tim Hill: A-

• W-L: 3-0

• ERA: 2.05

• GP: 35

• IP: 44.0

• WHIP: 1.023

• BB/9: 1.8

• K/9: 3.7

Another castoff from the White Sox, the worst team in MLB history in 2024 who had to be wondering how the Yankees took Hill and Cousins and turned them into bullpen stalwarts. When Hill first arrived, I figured the Yankees would give him a chance and then either send him to Triple-A or just cut him. Now, they are looking to re-sign him in the offseason because he was such a pleasant surprise.

He was their only useful lefty and in the 35 games he pitched for the Yankees, he gave up an earned run in only eight. Oh, and he should have been the guy Boone called in for the 10th inning in Game 1 against the Dodgers. Instead, we got to watch Nestor Cortes give up Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam.

Ian Hamilton: C-

• W-L: 0-1

• ERA: 3.82

• GP: 35

• SV: 1

• IP: 37.2

• WHIP: 1.354

• BB/9: 3.3

• K/9: 9.8

He spent most of the season on the injured list with various ailments, and when he was able to pitch, he was much less effective than in 2023. Hamilton came out of nowhere in 2023 because before that he had only 15 MLB appearances dating back to 2018, but he gave the Yankees a 2.64 ERA in 39 games in 2023 and figured to be a key man in 2024.

Instead, he pitched in only 35 games, his ERA shot up as did his WHIP, and his inherited runners scored percentage was 46%. Hamilton’s just wasn’t reliable and he’ll have to build back some of that lost trust in 2025.

Michael Tonkin: B-

• W-L: 3-2

• ERA: 3.38

• GP: 39

• SV: 2

• IP: 56.0

• WHIP: 1.161

• BB/9: 3.4

• K/9: 9.2

Tonkin’s debut, when he was thrown to the wolves in the 10th inning in Milwaukee on April 26, was a disaster. The Yankees had taken a lead in the top half, and Boone apparently had no one to go to so he chose Tonkin and he gave up a run to tie it, then pitched the 11th as well and gave up the run that won it for the Brewers. I thought he’d be around for a week and then gone.

Instead, the guy who had already been released twice by the Mets and once by the Twins in the first three weeks of the season, found a temporary home in the Bronx. I didn’t know how he did it with the junk he threw and the low velocity, but Tonkin played a big role in solidifying the bullpen thru mid-July when he had a 1.47 ERA in 27 games. But then over the next month, it all fell apart, his ERA was 6.98 in 12 games, and then Yankees released him in late August and he was re-signed by the Twins.

Caleb Ferguson: F

• W-L: 1-3

• ERA: 5.13

• GP: 42

• SV: 1

• IP: 33.1

• WHIP: 1.500

• BB/9: 4.3

• K/9: 11.1

One of Cashman’s worst signings in recent memory, but I can’t blame him for trying it. The Yankees needed a lefty and Ferguson had pitched well across five seasons for the Dodgers, but he never found any traction in New York. His first six appearances were fine, but then he blew a game to the Guardians on April 14, and from there until he was dumped at the end of July, he pitched in 36 games and his ERA was 5.93.

Victor Gonzalez: D

• W-L: 2-1

• ERA: 3.86

• GP: 27

• SV: 2

• IP: 23.1

• WHIP: 1.114

• BB/9: 5.0

• K/9: 4.2

Gonzalez was the other lefty from the Dodgers who Cashman acquired in the offseason, and while he was a little better than Ferguson, he wasn’t up to snuff either. I’ll say this, though. I didn’t think the Yankees needed to get rid of him. Yes, his numbers weren’t great, but look at his WHIP of 1.114. That’s certainly not terrible and among the relievers, only Weaver, Hill and Cousins were better. He allowed a run in seven of the 27 games he pitched, but three of those were the last three times he took the mound, all of which ended in losses, and I guess the Yankees had seen enough.