2019 Yankees: Why This Could Be the Best Bullpen Ever

This offseason, the New York Yankees revamped an already deadly bullpen. does this make the 2019 Yankees bullpen the best in MLB history?

When Most people look at the 2019 Yankees, they look at the potential for a record-breaking number of home runs. Even the nickname implies it, the “Bronx Bombers”.

Last season, the Yanks cemented their reputation for power hitting by setting the all-time HR record for a team in a single season (267).

While the Yanks are certainly in the business of power hitting, they also have a knack for building historic bullpens that feature power arms.

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So impressive has the Yankees bullpen been that in the last decade, they have ranked top 2 in fWAR a total of SEVEN times. Most impressively, however, the Yankees bullpen has ranked in the top 2 in fWAR for the last FIVE consecutive seasons. Within those five seasons, they’ve been the top bullpen in all of MLB THREE times.

Now, you may not know it, but the 2018 Yankees bullpen is considered the greatest pen of all time, according to fWAR. That bullpen included the likes of Aroldis Chapman (1.9), Dellin Betances (1.8), Zach Britton (0.1), David Robertson (1.5), and Chad Green (1.8) among others.

With Zach Britton and David Robertson (aka “D-Rob”) testing the market this offseason, the Yankees needed to act quickly to retain one or both of those pitchers.

Upon losing D-Rob to the Philadelphia Phillies in free agency, the New York Yankees and Britton quickly agreed on a 3-year deal. Later, the Yanks found a replacement for D-Rob in the form of Adam Ottavino (2.0), who was actually better than Robertson last season.

Now, the Yankees are set up to feature an even better bullpen than the historic one they had in 2018. Pair that with the addition of James Paxton to the starting rotation, and – if Luis Severino can return healthy – the 2019 Yankees have actually done a phenomenal job improving upon an already dynamic pitching staff.

As fans, all we have to do now is wait and see if these arms will in fact “bring the heat.”