Even though the Yankees' overall bullpen ERA is 3.57, which ranks 9th in all of baseball, anyone who has watched the games lately knows that number is hiding a scary truth.

The Yankees have lost 10 of their last 14 games, and the biggest reason is that the pitchers coming out of the bullpen are failing to do their jobs. Let's take the Yankees' Friday game vs. the Rays, for instance.

Gerrit Cole made his season debut and pitched six scoreless innings, giving up only two hits. But the bullpen immediately let it slip away. Tim Hill, who is usually a dependable arm, entered the game in the eighth inning with a 1-0 lead and had the worst outing of his season.

He did not record a single out while allowing 4 runs(3 earned) on three hits and a walk, and the 1-0 lead became a 4-1 deficit. It was the Yankees' bullpen story lately.

The bullpen has become so bad lately that it ranks 25th in the league with a 4.98 ERA, as per Codify’s reliever ERA list since May 13.

It listed the Dodgers with 0.00 ERA, the Padres with 1.14 ERA, the Red Sox with 1.75 ERA, the Twins with 1.89 ERA, and the Mariners with 2.01 ERA near the top

Everyone from Brent Headrick, Hill, Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, to David Bednar has struggled.

Doval has never found any rhythm or consistency during his entire time with the Yankees.  Bednar has a 4.91 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP this season, and his last 10 games have been rough, with a 6.97 ERA. Jake Bird has been uneven, too.

Hill owns a 2.75 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP this season, yet he was the reliever who let Friday’s game get away in the eighth inning. Headrick has been better overall, with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP, but even he has shown some recent wobble, posting a 3.52 ERA over his last seven games.

Relievers the Yankees Could Trade To Fix the Bullpen Woes

General Manager Brian Cashman cannot afford to wait and hope the bullpen magically fixes itself. The trade deadline is approaching, and he needs to be aggressive to avoid another October collapse.

The Yankees can look for a reliable closer in Kenley Jansen (Detroit Tigers), who can take the ninth-inning pressure off of David Bednar. The Yankees' experiment with Doval in the ninth has completely failed, and they desperately need another closing arm, and Jansen provides that steady and veteran presence.

Pete Fairbanks of the Miami Marlins is another option the Yankees can look at the trade deadline. Trading for a pitcher with a bloated ERA near 8.00 might sound crazy, but Fairbanks is a special case. He was once one of the most reliable arms in the Rays' bullpen.

Kevin Ginkel of the Arizona Diamondbacks is not a star closer, but he is a very solid middle-inning reliever. After a horrible 2025 season where his ERA was an awful 7.36, Ginkel has bounced back nicely in 2026, lowering his ERA to around 3.05. If the Yankees are looking for a lower-cost option, Ginkel makes a lot of sense.

Read more at New York Yankees Community!

Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi