Ryan Garcia
The Yankees lost last night in Seattle and I would say confidently that this was not entirely Paul Blackburn’s fault, but rather on the offense for only scoring one run.
We don’t have to include irrational analysis in overreaction segments, but now I can just say what I think anyone in baseball would agree with (including the Yankees if you gave them truth serum).
Paul Blackburn, who owns a career 7.49 ERA and 4.01 xFIP as a reliever with a 4.28 xFIP overall, is not a good pitcher and does not need to have a continued spot on the roster.
New York made it through Spring Training with a healthy rotation, their two top prospects on the pitching side are healthy and in Triple-A, and there is nothing to suggest that Blackburn will turn things around in 2026.
If we’re being frank, the Yankees are attached to a player that they guaranteed an MLB roster spot to for no apparent reason in a market that did not have the hots for Blackburn, and it’s time to just cut that one loose.
READ MORE: NY Yankees 1, Mariners 2: Good news and bad news after walk-off loss in Seattle
Why the Yankees Need to Make an Early Cut With Paul Blackburn
When the Yankees signed Paul Blackburn I was confused to see them give a guaranteed MLB roster spot to someone who had never previously shown the capability to have his stuff improve in the bullpen.
He doesn’t have a swing-and-miss profile, serving as a junkball veteran who could make some spot starts on a non-contender.
The 2025 Mets, who were maligned for their awful rotation issues from a talent and depth standpoint, parted ways with Blackburn by designating him for assignment after he struggled in a reliever role.
I have seen Matt Blake turn water into wine, but I did not think that Blackburn would fit this bullpen’s new identity of velocity and whiffs very well, but being proven wrong by this pitching apparatus is something I’m used to.
That has not happened here; not only has the 32-year-old failed to make any notable improvements to his velocity or add a disgusting new pitch, but you could argue he’s gotten worse.
Do we have to pretend that losing that much sink on a sinker is a good thing when it doesn’t come with more velocity or lateral movement?
This was a shaky pitch that is now straight-up a bad pitch; it has dead-zone characteristics from a fairly generic pitch slot which in much simplier words means that this fastball will not deceive MLB hitters.
They already have a designated long man in Ryan Yarbrough, they already have some unproven bullpen arms who have far better stuff and upside, and they don’t desperately need early-season starts because they have good depth.
Would anyone want Elmer Rodriguez or Carlos Lagrange to get passed up if one of the Yankees’ four starting pitchers were to go down with a notable injury?
The other aspect of this is that the Yankees are taking innings from Cade Winquest, who severely disappointed me in Spring Training but at least has the velocity to make you squint your eyes and see a potential project reliever.
Luis Gil will come up in about 10 days to help this rotation out when they need a fifth starter and I would expect the lack of Winquest usage in any leverage to indicate that he will return to the Cardinals when that happens.
Why burn a roster spot on Cade Winquest just to not use him and figure out what he is when that could have gone to a veteran like Osvaldo Bido who made notable improvements in camp and could easily be cut if he stumbles?
Maybe this all sets up for Gil to take Blackburn’s spot on the roster, but there isn’t a single executive who would tell you that this is a veteran signing that has any bullpen upside based on his pitch mix
You aren’t overreacting when you’re saying a guy who has been bad and hasn’t changed anything in his profile is bad, and that’s why I feel very confident speaking this boldly on March 31st.
Everyone on this team is either an interesting pitcher with upside or a veteran with an established role, Paul Blackburn does not fall into either of these buckets right now.
Placing him on waivers would likely result in 29 teams opting not to take on the ~$2 million to roster him and instead getting to either demote him to Scranton or letting him elect for free agency.
The Yankees talked a big game after San Francisco about how much every game matters…so let’s test that theory and not have someone waste one of the 26 spots on this roster.
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