New York Yankees: What does the bullpen situation look like?

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The Yankees boasted one of the best bullpen units in the league last season. It should still be a force in 2018, considering that none of the key relievers left this offseason.

Few teams in the league have as much of a star-studded bullpen as the Yankees. But it doesn’t mean the new skipper will have it easy in determining who gets what role in order to be successful.

Aroldis Chapman put his job in jeopardy in 2017, while David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle showed they belong in the Bronx. Analysts even gave some love to Chad Green as well, who was arguably one of the best long relievers in the game last year.

With an abundance of reliable relievers, New York’s bullpen should continue to thrive in 2018. It ranked third in the MLB last year in ERA. But there’s always room for improvement.

Other than Chapman, the team’s primary relief corps all boasted ERAs below 3.00. From the seventh inning to the ninth, the new manager shouldn’t have to fret about much.

However, with such a strong slew of relief pitchers, new roles may be established, especially in the ninth. Robertson, Betances and Chapman all have experience as stoppers. Fans often deemed Chapman the best reliever in the league prior to last season.

Then he became flustered more often, yielding more hits in crucial situations. Heading into Spring Training with an arsenal of arms, New York could dismiss the hard-throwing lefty as its closer.

There are several pitching options the new manager will have. But there are also a few that will not be thrusted into the daily game plan.

Chason Shreve and Bryan Mitchell are two noteworthy pieces that will likely be utilized to eat up innings. Together, the two logged 78 innings. Mitchell, if he remains on the 40-man roster, would be sort of a last resort unless he shows improvement out of the gates.

Shreve, on the other hand, could be used in a long relief role, as he had a successful season last year after a rough 2016. He was one of seven Yankees relievers with more than 25 innings pitched that averaged more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings. The 27-year-old did struggle with command though, yielding the second-most walks on the team among bullpen guys.

Shreve will be an asset, but there are several more dependable relievers on the team, each with their own role.

Chad Green and Adam Warren

Green will enter Spring Training as a starting pitcher, as of now. However, the Yankees have time to sign another arm – Ohtani anyone? – before that time comes.

But he’s not the only one any manager would feel confident in to relieve a starter of their duties. There’s also Adam Warren, who, in his second stint in New York, is sitting down opposing hitters left and right.

Both established themselves as Joe Girardi’s guys in any early innings. Green even pushed himself into the later innings just because he was so dominant. And he was, posting a minute 1.83 ERA with 103 strikeouts compared to 17 walks in the regular season. His WHIP was a ridiculous 0.74.

Although fans may remember Green’s meltdown in Game 3 against the Indians, the team can still depend on him in just about any situation. Opposing hitters managed to compile a meager .125 average against him with runners in scoring position.

He also fared better against left-handed hitters, as they hit just .120 against him compared to right-handers’ .162. That’s impressive considering managers’ focus on lefty/righty matchups in crucial parts of the game.

Warren wasn’t a household name during his first spell on the Yankees. And he still isn’t a household name outside of New York.

Nevertheless, the right-hander was a force whenever he was called to the bump last year. He garnered 11 holds and posted a strong 0.87 WHIP. He also sported his best strikeout-to-walk ratio in his career at 3.6.

Warren didn’t receive as much notice as Green in the previous season, but at 30 years old, he may have peaked, as many pitchers do at that age. If Green doesn’t fare well as a starting pitcher, Warren will always be an option.

But if the Yankees acquire another starter off the market, they will have two more weapons in the bullpen.

Dellin Betances and Tommy Kahnle

Betances appeared in four straight All-Star games. A statistic like that can’t typically be paired with a negative opinion in regards to just about anyone.

Yet there is an argument that the right-handed hurler took a step backwards in 2017 for the Yankees.

The right-hander allowed a career-high 44 walks in just 59 2/3 innings. His next-highest average prior to this year was in 2015, when he divvied out 40 walks in 84 innings. That’s a big difference.

Nevertheless, his punch-out rate was also magnificent at 15.09 strikeouts per nine innings. That ranked second in the MLB for pitchers with more than 40 innings pitched. He compiled 100 whiffs for the fourth-straight season.

Betances was the team’s closer while Chapman took a tour of Chicago. But even with the left-hander’s down season, Betances should remain one of the team’s main setup guys.

Before being dealt to the Yanks, Kahnle was lights out for the White Sox, posting a sub-1.00 WHIP and striking out 15 batters per nine innings. Hence, New York’s general manager Brian Cashman sought the reliever at the trade deadline, along with Robertson and slugging third baseman Todd Frazier.

Kahnle wasn’t as dominant once he was shipped to the Bronx, but he was still reliable for former manager Joe Girardi. He allowed just eight runs in 26 2/3 innings, even though he allowed more hits and walks than his career averages.

He’s become a primetime punch out pitcher as of this past season. He ranked fourth in strikeouts per nine innings in the league, just below Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel and Corey Knebel.

And against right-handed hitters, he’s one of the best in the pen for the Yankees. Hitters on that side of the plate hit .171 against him with a sparse .525 OPS. He and Betances will continue to hold down the middle innings, setting up the team’s ninth-inning guys for the save.

David Robertson and Aroldis Chapman

One’s a former closer and one is the current.

Robertson followed the game’s greatest closer in Mariano Rivera. During his time in that role, he fared pretty well, recording 39 saves in his first year. Then the front office didn’t bring him back.

But the right-hander still managed to compile 84 saves in two-and-a-half seasons in Chicago. Now, back in New York, he’s shown he can still shut down opponents in the later innings.

He posted a microscopic 1.03 ERA with 51 punch outs in 35 innings during his return to the Yankees. Yet, even with the high strikeout rate, he still mostly ground balls while on the bump, as his 47.1 percent ground ball rate suggests.

Even at 32 years old, Robertson arguably strung together his best campaign, as some of his numbers are more compelling than his lone All-Star season from 2011. He posted a lower WHIP, batting average against and BABIP in 2017 than any other season.

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Robertson may have hit his stride, and moving forward he can still be relied on in the ninth inning, if necessary. But that depends on how well Chapman does.

The flame-throwing southpaw didn’t suffer a ton of consequences during his time in Cincinnati. He was a breath of fresh air to the league, tossing 100-mph pitches consistently in every game and setting hitters down easily with a nasty hard-breaking slider.

While he still throws high heat more than anyone else in the league, opposing hitters are arguably catching up to him. He posted his highest ERA since 2011 and allowed a career-high 6.6 hits per nine innings.

And it mostly relates to batters’ success against his fastball, which he’s thrown nearly 80 percent of the time in his career. Hitters sported their highest batting average against his heater than ever before at .201. They’re hitting it for extra-base hits as well, sporting a .304 slugging percentage.

Surprisingly, those hits are coming off of fewer line drives, as Chapman’s line drive rate from his fastball was the lowest it’s been since 2011. The left-hander’s strikeout rate also worsened in 2017, though it was still an impressive 14.0 punch outs per nine innings.

And, after slightly improving his command across the 2016 season, he struggled once again this season. He yielded 3.6 walks per nine innings, which is still better than what he averaged during his four All-Star seasons from 2012 to 2015. Yet it’s still a cause for concern.

Next: Corner infield options for the Yanks

Chapman will likely start with a long leash in the closing role. However, whoever takes the reigns of the team might not have as much confidence in him as Girardi did.

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