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The New York Yankees are known for maximizing value from their bullpen, as even with this depleted group they’ve found ways to squeeze more value than expected. While it’s impressive, every team in baseball is trying to maximize value out of their bullpen, and that means bringing in veterans who need a tweak or unproven talent with the upside to become something special. Some organizations are either unable to identify the tweak needed or only identify it during the season, causing a player’s overall numbers to underwhelm fans at the deadline.
What the Yankees need are guys who are going to provide them value in the second half, and that doesn’t always mean going for the players with the best first halves. While these three names aren’t at the top of any wish lists, they are ascending and could provide a ton of value at the deadline for the Yankees.
Former Yankees’ Farmhand Could Provide Bullpen a Spark
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Selected in the 30th Round of the 2024 MLB Draft, John Brebbia could come at a low cost and provide a nice punch for the Yankees’ bullpen. The right-hander has a 4.50 ERA on the season but it’s come with a 3.22 FIP and 30% strikeout rate, suggesting some positive regression is on the way. In fact, it seems we’re already getting it, as Brebbia has a 31.6% K-BB% while boasting a 1.40 ERA thanks to some small tweaks that would go under the radar if you aren’t paying close attention.
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The big tweak was throwing his fastball up in the zone more consistently, resulting in a higher Whiff Rate and much better damage suppression. His four-seamer generates a ton of vertical ride with mid-90s velocity, and it’s the exact kind of profile the Yankees should be chasing right now. They need to miss bats, and at roughly $5 million this season with a club option for the 2025 season, he shouldn’t cost too much to acquire.
John Brebbia isn’t a sexy name, but he’s someone on a tear who has made a pretty noticeable adjustment in terms of fastball command, so he’s certainly a flyer worth taking. Would he fix the bullpen on his own? No, but as a supplementary piece, he could be a strong addition and could be looked back on as one of the better deals at the trade deadline for the Bronx Bombers.
Michael Kopech is consistently coveted as the buy-low candidate in the Chicago White Sox bullpen, but John Brebbia profiles much better for that in my opinion, and the Yankees should at least look into him.
Failed Starter Turned Back Into Dominant Reliever
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AJ Puk was absolutely terrible as a starter for the Miami Marlins, posting an ugly 9.22 ERA and walking 17 batters in 13.2 innings through his first four starts. Since then, he’s been one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball, posting a 2.30 ERA and 2.73 FIP across 27.1 innings pitched, showing off the strikeout stuff and limiting the walks and home runs. A huge adjustment for Puk has been using a firmer slider over his sweeper, a pitch that plays up the rest of his arsenal.
This pitch comes in at 86.2 MPH with 3.8 inches of sweep and 0.9 inches of Induced Vertical Break, registering a 48.8% Whiff Rate thanks to how well it plays off of the fastball, especially to right-handed batters. Since June 19th, he’s used the pitch 34.6% of the time and hasn’t allowed an earned run, striking out 42.6% of hitters faced over that timespan. It’s a dominant repertoire with this pitch at the helm and we’ve seen him more reliably attack with his fastball because of the vertical separation created by the two pitches.
Being a big swing-and-miss arm is important considering the Yankees lack it, and his numbers against left-handed hitters are important too since the Yankees don’t have many southpaws in the bullpen. With two more years of control after the 2024 campaign, Puk is a longer-term option in the bullpen, and Brian Cashman could potentially get him at a lower price tag than someone like Tanner Scott while yielding much greater rewards based on the underlying data.
As a reliever this year, Puk has a 122 Stuff+ with a 2.30 ERA, I’m just not sure it gets much better than this in terms of a proper fit for the Yankees’ bullpen.
Landing a Veteran Bullpen Piece Finding a Second Wind
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Andrew Chafin looked like his career was on its last legs after posting a 4.73 ERA and 4.01 FIP across 51.1 innings with the Diamondbacks and Marlins, but he’s made a key change as of late. The southpaw could provide some high-leverage innings for the Bronx Bombers as the slider has become more involved in his arsenal as of late leading to more strikeouts and less damage contact.
No longer possessing the sinker that he had before, he needs a new way to consistently get outs, and his slider is a nasty pitch that he’s using 49.7% of the time over his last 14 games to the tune of a 0.69 ERA and 34.6% K%. He ranks in the 95th Percentile in Chase Rate (35%) and the 93rd Percentile in Whiff Rate (33%) which is appealing given the bullpen’s lack of swing-and-miss, and he could provide a stabilizing presence in middle innings.
This could be a more viable replacement for Wandy Peralta’s role last year, as while he doesn’t have the same kind of profile, Chafin holds left-handed batters to a .236 SLG% with a 33.3% strikeout rate. His numbers against right-handed hitters have improved as the slider usage has gone up, and the pitch is truly a great weapon for him.
The ability to miss bats is important, but there is one massive concern with Andrew Chafin, and it’s the fact that he sports a sick hairdo that he’d have to trim if he came over here. It’s silly that we have to speculate on whether a player would like to play for a team because they have archaic and silly rules regarding hair but that’s the reality of it. All kidding aside, the Yankees could look at Chafin as a smaller addition who doesn’t require a hefty trade package, unless they’d like to acquire someone like Jack Flaherty alongside him.