Nick Burdi has struggled with command and injury issues with the New York Yankees thus far, but his stuff and swing-and-miss potential definitely appeal to this team. Rehabbing from his second hip injury, Burdi had a 1.86 ERA and 5.43 FIP across 12 appearances, showing off both a dominant fastball-slider combination but also tending to lose control and spray baseballs wildly. With one more live batting practice session left to go, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that the Yankees are likely to have him start his rehab assignment this Friday.
Yankees’ Bullpen Could Get a Reinforcement in Nick Burdi
While Nick Burdi has a 1.86 ERA and 26.7% strikeout rate, the lack of consistent command creates a lot of concern regarding his reliability. Now it could also be stated that Burdi might have been pitching through discomfort, causing him to lose the feel for his stuff that he seemingly had in Spring Training.
The track record for Burdi at the Major League level isn’t great in terms of command, walking 15.8% of batters faced, but this team could desperately use the whiff potential. Right now, the Yankees’ bullpen ranks 17th in strikeout rate (23%), and while they’ve gotten better as of late, they still need some deadline reinforcements.
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Perhaps Nick Burdi earns a greater role in this bullpen when he returns, but the Yankees are definitely eying some trade targets who will take up roster spots in the coming days. Tanner Scott is a name who has to be on every team’s radar right now, with a 1.27 ERA and 28.2% strikeout rate on the season.
The Miami Marlins are one of the worst teams in the sport, so they’re obvious sellers, and they have some other pieces that are worth eyeing as well. Adding some swing-and-miss is important, especially in the high-leverage moments of a game where their relievers have suffered the most this season.
We’ll see how Brian Cashman navigates through this trade deadline, but the Yankees could get some help on the way with Nick Burdi, who joins the rehabbing Scott Effross as relievers nearing a return.