The New York Yankees’ bullpen enjoyed a fantastic first couple of months, like the rest of the units on the team. However, it has struggled of late with injuries and some key pitchers underperforming.
Proof of this is the fact that the Yankees were forced to designate a pitcher with a 3.74 ERA for assignment: Michael Tonkin, however, had been wildly ineffective in recent outings and the team no longer trusted him to maintain leads.
There are four names that can change the equation. Four relievers who have a recent (or past) track record of success, even in a Yankees uniform. These hurlers are Nick Burdi, Scott Effross, Lou Trivino, and Ian Hamilton.
All four are currently on rehab stints and will soon reinforce the Yanks’ relief corps, in some cases potentially before the end of the month.
The four pitchers are close to rejoining the Yankees
Burdi, who has had two different injured list stints with right hip inflammation this year, left an impressive 1.86 ERA in 9.2 innings in MLB earlier in the season. He was activated and optioned to Triple-A at the beginning of August.
There, with the RailRiders, Burdi has a 3.72 ERA in 9.2 frames, with five walks and 14 strikeouts. His high-90s heat would be a nice fit in the Yankees lineup whenever they deem him ready.
Hamilton has been on the shelf since mid-June with a right lat strain. He was cleared to begin a rehab assignment with the Double-A Somerset Patriots on Saturday, and threw a clean inning. He should be an option for the Yankees in September and would return to a 4.55 ERA in 29.2 innings, although he was magnificent last year with a 2.64 ERA.
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Effross has been pitching in competitive games since July after recovering from elbow and back surgeries. He has logged 22 innings in Triple-A with a 4.09 ERA but has a 1.46 mark in his last nine games and 12.1 innings.
Trivino, recovering from a bout of elbow inflammation, has accumulated five innings for Somerset, with a 1.80 ERA.
You can almost feel like a promotion to MLB is coming for Effross, Burdi, and Trivino, while Hamilton is a bit behind but should be ready in about a week or so. Those four names could help bring some stability and consistency to the Yankees relief corps.
