While the Yankees have made some shiny new upgrades to their bullpen with Devin Williams and Fernando Cruz, they’ve also shown the ability to develop from within and an active willingness to give rookies a shot. Last season we saw Luis Gil get a crack at the rotation, an opportunity he ran with all the way to a Rookie of the Year award, and a year before that they developed both Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez into reliable bullpen weapons who became trade chips for Juan Soto.
Their pipeline of prospects at the upper levels of the Minors has dried up a bit with their trades and promotions, but we could see some more pitchers graduate into bigger roles in 2025. With Spring Training just a few weeks away, Clayton Beeter and Will Warren could find themselves in a battle for a final spot in that bullpen, with both flashing some upside in their brief MLB stints.
Yankees Might Have Low-Cost Bullpen Options in Two Rookie Right-Handers
If the Yankees want to continue building a core that can keep this team in contention for the long haul, they’ll need to develop more low-cost pitching that can either step into a bigger role next year or be used in a trade. During Spring Training, they were able to have at three-man battle between Luis Gil, Clayton Beeter, and Will Warren for the final spot in the rotation, and while all three were impressive in Spring, 2025 will test their long-term viability.
Beeter and Warren have plenty to prove in 2025, with both being on the 40-man roster and having undefined roles on the roster since they’ve both come up as starters. The rotation is set, with Marcus Stroman slotting in as the sixth starter and the Yankees looking to try and overcome some geographical hurdles to land Roki Sasaki as well. Relievers are always needed though, and the Yankees have already tinkered with moving Clayton Beeter into the bullpen.
On Hot Stove earlier this winter, Matt Blake spoke highly of Beeter, who the Yankees acquired in a trade with the Dodgers that saw Joey Gallo head to Los Angeles. His lack of arsenal depth and command make him an excellent bullpen candidate, which improved as a reliever because he could work exclusively out of the stretch and see an uptick in his velocity.
The right-hander posted a 2.08 ERA across 12 MiLB appearances with a 35.7% K%, and he’s projected for a 3.79 ERA across 63 innings by Steamer.
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Will Warren wasn’t sharp at the Major League level in 2025, posting an ERA north of 10 as he struggled to locate in-zone consistently. He looked rattled and overwhelmed, but that doesn’t mean he’s incapable of figuring it out. Clarke Schmidt was abysmal in his first crack as a big-league starter in 2023, and Michael King shared similar struggles in his first go-around as a big-leaguer back in 2020.
His signature pitch is a sweeping slider that can rack up tons of whiffs, but the location of the pitch was spotty when he reached the big leagues. The Yankees will have to work out those issues if they want him to be a productive arm, as it plays up the rest of his arsenal, which include a four-seamer, sinker, cutter, and changeup. All five of these pitches move in distinct ways with good movement profiles, and the upside is here for him to build up as a reliever and later transition into a starting role again.
The right-hander’s underlying metric suggested he should have been closer to a league-average starter this past season, and Will Warren might be able to find some footing in a less stressful role. He had a 102 Stuff+ and 104 Pitching+ in his six appearances as well, indicating he has the upside to be an above-average starter down the line, and his mix compares closely to Michael King’s thanks to their big sliders, funky release points, and ability to generate spin.
If the Yankees want to form a dominant pitching staff they’ll need their stars to remain excellent, but it wouldn’t hurt to have their rookies show up either. Spring Training should bring about the opportunity for these arms to battle it out for a job, and even if both of them end up in Scranton to end the year, they’ll be excellent depth options when someone inevitably gets injured.