Jun 14, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Luke Bard (46) pitches the ball against the New York Yankees during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Yankees were looking for a bit of bullpen support, especially with Miguel Castro still on the 60-day injured list. It is also possible they utilize Clarke Schmidt in the coming days as a potential spot starter; added depth to help smooth things over couldn’t hurt.
In addition, stealing a relief pitcher from the Tampa Bay Rays is always a good move, which is why the Yankees scooped up Luke Bard off waivers on Friday.
Earlier today, the Yankees claimed RHP Luke Bard off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The 31-year-old bullpen arm has pitched 14 innings this season over eight appearances. He hosts a 1.93 ERA with an 81.3% left on base rate and 36.8% ground ball rate. Before 2022, Bard last appeared with the Los Angeles Angels in 2020, but made only six appearances over 5.1 innings. He pitched 49 innings in 2019, posting a 4.78 ERA over a larger sample size.
So far this season, Bard has utilized a 4-seam fastball, slider, curveball, and cutter as his primary pitches. His 4-seam is generating a .188 batting average against with a 19.4% whiff rate at 94 mph. The right-handed pitcher also features a solid slider, throwing it 26.2% of the time with a .133 average against.
His most productive pitch this season has been his curveball, throwing it 18.2% at 78 mph. Over 10 at-bats, he hasn’t given up a hit, generating four strikeouts, good for a 50% whiff rate.
Bard has an active fastball, producing 13.6 inches of vertical drop, 11% better than the average pitcher. However, his 11.3 inches of horizontal break is 43% better than the average pitcher. That type of movement is valuable in the bullpen, especially when facing right-handed batters.
Bard was assigned to Triple-A Scranton, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they call him up for a test appearance in the coming days to mitigate fatigue. However, the Yankees did just trade for Scott Effross and Lou Trivino, who are both expected to make a big impact moving forward as the team pushes toward the postseason.
This post was published on 2022-08-05 14:50
