SSTN Mailbag: The Bullpen, Boone's Return, And Press Conference!

I'm bummed out. No, not about the Yankees, though if you watched that press conference, and my sincere condolences if you did, that would be enough to bum you out. I have long noted that I am a baseball rat. I am the type of guy who will pull over while I'm driving home from somewhere to watch an inning at a little league game. I love the game more than I love the Yankees.

So why am I bummed out? The World Series begins this evening. I think the matchup is a lot of fun between the Rays and the Brewers (I'm rooting for the Brewers; I like the way they play baseball, but Gary Sanchez has always been a personal favorite, and I'd love to see him get a ring). I will not be able to watch any of the game. Nor will I be able to watch any of the games next week, except for maybe Game 7, if it's needed. I'll be in Europe on business, which is normally an enjoyable venture, but I'm not thrilled about missing the World Series. I have a feeling that this is going to be a particularly long winter, so missing this last gasp of pro baseball really has me feeling down. I don't know about you, but I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that we're all wrong about the impending labor strife.

As always, thanks for the great questions and keep them coming to SSTNReadermail@gmail.com. In this week's SSTN Mailbag, we'll talk about the bullpen, Aaron Boone's return, and last week's press conference! Let's get at it:

Brad S. asks: After my note on the backup catcher, I’ve been thinking about the bigger hole: the bullpen. Bednar, Blackburn, Tim Hill, Ryan Yarbrough, John Schreiber, and Michael Fulmer are all free agents. That’s four of the five Yankees who threw 55+ relief innings this year. The catcher question is about fine-tuning. The bullpen question decides whether this team can protect a lead in October.

Brad went on to rank his favorite external options, but the question of the bullpen is incredibly important this offseason! Right now, the bullpen is a complete and total disaster - Brad does an outstanding job of outlining all of the people who are currently free agents. We also know that Fernando Cruz may or may not be healthy next year (though I find it interesting that the Yankees didn't mention anything about him heading for surgery during the season ending press conference). That really leaves Brent Headrick as the only high-leverage option remaining, and he wore down significantly last season.

Here's how I would handle the bullpen:

1. Re-sign David Bednar. The Qualifying Offer of $23+ million is incredibly rich for a reliever, but given the Yankees' dire needs, I'm not sure they have a choice. I'd offer him the Qualifying Offer while trying to work out a long-term deal that would be satisfactory. Either way, the Yanks need their closer to return.

2. Re-sign Paul Blackburn. Blackburn won't blow it by anyone, but he was a versatile relieve who was elite at limiting hard contact while keeping the ball on the ground. His stuff graded out well, and though I'm a bit concerned that we'll see him come back to Earth a bit, I think it's worth bringing him back.

3. Re-sign Ryan Yarbrough. I know that I'm the same guy who argued for Yarbrough's release early in the year, but I think a versatile swing man who limits hard contact better than almost anyone in baseball and has a rubber arm is valuable. He'll also be cheap. I'm good with a 3rd go-'round with the team.

4. Sign a good left-handed relief pitcher. I'll cut to the chase: I don't think that Adrian Morejon is coming to the Yankees. Morejon is almost certainly looking for a closer job and I don't expect the Yankees to feature two $18+ million relievers on their roster. Looking to the next tier, I think that there are some really interesting options. I like Sean Newcomb, a former top prospect who found success last year in the bullpen for the White Sox, and he really can spin a breaking ball. He throws hard for a lefty, and I can't help but think that the Yankees can help him make his change-up a consistent weapon.

5. Trade for a hard thrower. The Yankees didn't have the ability to blow opposing lineups away late in games last year until they got to Bednar. That needs to change, and it will take more than one pitcher. The Yankees had below-average fastball velocity in the bullpen compared to the rest of the league, and with their pitching development program, I think they can find a thrower somewhere for a low cost to add to their bullpen.

6. Make Carlos Lagrange a full-time reliever. I've watched Lagrange a lot over the last two seasons. I don't think he's a starting pitcher. His stuff screams wipeout relief arm, potentially one you can trust for more than one inning. The Yankees have starting pitching depth, and can afford to make Lagrange pitch out of the bullpen. He might well be Bednar's setup man in short order.

I think those 6 actions would make the Yankee bullpen formidable again.

David H. asks: What are your thoughts on Boone returning? I for one am apathetic. And if not Boone, who did you like for the job?

This was the expected result as far as I'm concerned. There are some legitimate reasons for bringing Boone back this time, though I don't think any of them outweigh what we can all see with our own eyes over the last 9 years:

1. The impending lockout means that a new manager will not get an appropriate amount of time in the offseason to really get to know his players and get properly acclimated to the new job

2. Boone is under contract for 2027, so why pay two managers?!?

We all know why Steinbrenner decided to bring back Aaron Boone - reason two above. Steinbrenner is a self-proclaimed "finance geek." He's loathe to eat money which is why we've so often seen the Yankees hold on to underperforming, overpaid assets for too long. This is why I expected Boone to return.

No, I really thought that 2021 was the year to end the Aaron Boone experiment, and he hasn't done anything to change my opinion. My top choices are unchanged since I first wrote about my favorite options in 2023:

1. Shelley Duncan, Yankee AAA manager - He's everything you want in a modern manager, and he's held a variety of roles in the front office, MLB and minor league dugouts, and has served well as AAA manager. He also knows and has helped develop many of the Yankees' most promising young players. He's due for a promotion.

2. Joe Espada, free agent - Joe Espada has a long history with the Yankees and he got a lot out of some weak Houston rosters the last couple of years. He also has a reputation for balancing players needs with a focus on standards and fundamentals.

3. Don Mattingly, Phillies manager - I'm not sure Donnie Baseball makes it out of 2027 as the Phillies manager, given that they flirted with multiple other guys who turned them down before grudgingly making his return official.

Michael G. asks: Do you have any thoughts on the Yankees' recent press conference?

Honestly? Most of what I saw was rinse, lather, repeat from previous end-of-season press conferences, but there were a few tid-bits I'd like to key in on:

• A Zoom call?!?! Really? Tell me that you had to pull teeth to get Steinbrenner to do a press conference without telling me you had to pull teeth. To me, this shows just how out of touch ownership really is. Culture flows downhill, and no matter who is in the GM and manager chairs, Steinbrenner's involvement keeps the team from reaching any real continued level of excellence.

• I am sensing a rift between Aaron Judge and the front office/ownership group. Judge called out the Yankees (and Steinbrenner specifically) by saying that the Yankees need to go "all-in." Steinbrenner's response was telling, noting that he goes all-in every year, and this year he felt he did that particularly well. He also blamed the playoff losing on the players. Players have changed a lot over the last 4 seasons of playoff struggles. I wonder how this relationship is playing out behind the scenes.

• The media asked the Yankees a lot of questions about culture and calling players out, but I think they missed the boat with their line of questioning. It's not about whether players are called out publicly or not. It's about creating and instilling a culture that values fundamental baseball and focus. It's about holding players accountable, including by docking playing time, when they make critical in-game mistakes. I think the media worked to hard to make it about whether or not Boone calls people out publicly.

• Aaron Judge would have moved the needle by a significant margin, but we also know that the Yankees had clear issues on offense all season. Half of the lineup couldn't hit. The pitching staff was elite, but they needed to score runs. That doesn't scream "World Series Championship roster" to me.

• No new injuries...that might be a first in recent memory.

• I wish someone hammered the team about how it allowed Austin Wells to play through the first half of the season when he admitted that accumulated hits to the head was effecting his play. The numbers alone make it beyond obvious what was going on.