Bullpen Grades: Mostly a Mess All Season

One thing the Yankees have usually had is a strong bullpen, but that was not the case in 2025 and it cost them dearly. Lets get to it.

When Brian Cashman made the trade deadline deals that brought David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird to the Bronx, it looked like he’d struck gold because there was no argument against any of those acquisitions.

Bednar worked out great as he took over the closer role, but Doval was a hot mess and Bird was so awful that he was in Triple-A less than two weeks after he was acquired.

And with offseason trade acquisition Devin Williams shitting the bed, Luke Weaver turning back into circa 2022 Luke Weaver which would be the not so good Weaver, Jonathan Loaisiga getting hurt again, and Mark Leiter sucking to new levels, the bullpen was a disaster.

The Yankees finished 23rd overall in bullpen ERA at 4.37 and 19th in WHIP at 1.320, their relievers gave up 75 homers which was 13th-most, and their strikeout-to-walk ratio was 16th at 2.53. Not good.

Devin Williams: C-

There were times when he was exactly the guy the Yankees thought they were getting, which is to say, a dominant, sometimes unhittable hammer at the end of games. But holy shit, when he was bad, he was calamitous. He finished with a 4.97 ERA, but it was 9.00 in March/April, 5.73 in July, and 4.91 in August and he spent most of the season out of the closer’s role.

He had 10 appearances where he gave up at least two runs and in those games he took the loss in four and was charged with two other blown saves. Think about that when you consider the Yankees and Blue Jays finished tied for first in the AL East. He’s now a free agent and I can’t imagine the Yankees are considering bringing him back, nor would I imagine he wants to return to a place where he was booed for most of 2025.

David Bednar: A-

Bednar had a brutal debut for the Yankees on Aug. 1 in that hideous 13-12 loss to Miami when all three of the bullpen trade acquisitions flopped. But in the last 21 games he pitched, he allowed runs in just three, and then in the postseason he gave up just one run on three hits and a walk in five appearances, saving two games.

He will be the closer in 2026 unless the Yankees make a move for a top tier guy, and one name who has been linked to them is Edwin Diaz of the Mets, though I can’t imagine Mets owner Steve Cohen will allow him to go across town for more money. Bednar throws gas and that’s something the Yankees needed because Williams lived on his changeup and a mid-90s fastball which made him vulnerable.

Luke Weaver: C-

The Yankees resurrected his career when they brought him over in 2023 and converted the failed starter into a reliever. In 2024 Weaver was their best reliever and even moved into the closer role late that year in place of Clay Holmes.

But in 2025 Weaver took a big step back as his ERA went from 2.89 to 3.62 and despite pitching in two more games, his innings dropped by 20 because he was no longer trusted for multiple-inning outings. It was weird because many of his numbers were the same - he averaged 10 strikeouts per nine, and he gave up 10 homers in both years. But 2025 just felt like a struggle because it was and he’s another free agent who I don’t think the Yankees will bring back.

Tim Hill: B

One free agent who is returning is Hill, and he deserves it. Hill gets no respect, but he had been one of the most reliable bullpen options for two years because generally he comes in, throws strikes, and gets outs. He was much better in 2024 as his ERA went up a full run to 3.09 and that was because his home run yield rose from two to eight, but Hill is the Swiss Army knife of the bullpen and for a team that needs lefties, he was an easy re-sign for Cashman.

Fernando Cruz: C+

When he was on point with his devastating splitter he was close to unhittable. But that’s a finicky pitch and there were too many times when he was utterly mediocre as his 3.56 ERA would indicate. But considering his ERA in three seasons with the Reds was 4.52, he seemed to find some comfort in New York and he said on numerous occasions how much he loves pitching for the Yankees. The Yankees definitely missed him when he was sidelined two months in the summer because his absence impacted the entire order of the bullpen, but what they didn’t miss was his high walk rate which he has to get a grip on moving forward. Again, the splitter can be deadly, but it’s tough to control and if a team is wise and lays off, Cruz will walk a ton.

Mark Leiter: D-

What a disaster, and thankfully the Yankees did not offer him a contract for 2026. Since he joined the Yankees in 2024, his ERA is 4.89 and for a reliever over a stretch of time which includes 70 innings across 80 appearances, that basically means he should not be on the team. Leiter was essentially a mop up guy most of the year, and he wasn’t even very good at that.

Jonathan Loaisiga: D

Speaking of disasters who was not offered a new contract, Loaisiga was putrid. He missed the first six weeks because of his arm injury in 2024, then pitched in 30 games before getting hurt again in early August and missed the rest of the year. In those 30 games, across 29.2 innings, he served up seven gopher balls and had a 4.25 ERA which was his worst since 2019. The Yankees made the wise decision to move on after the season and did not offer him a contract.

Ian Hamilton: D

There’s a trend developing here at the end. Another disaster was Hamilton, and rightfully, he was demoted to Triple-A in late July and never returned. Hamilton was a revelation out of nowhere in 2023 when he put up a 2.64 ERA, but he began to stumble in 2024, and then he just flat out tripped and fell in 2025 with a 4.28 ERA and 5.0 walks per nine innings. Unpitchable, and I’m not sure why he’s still on the 40-man roster.

Camilo Doval: C-

Like so many of the Yankees’ relievers in 2025, Doval’s command was not good and it led to a 5.3 walk rate, a full walk move per nine than his career average of 4.4 which isn’t good, either. Doval can get it up to 100 mph, but the weird thing about him is he’s not a dominant strikeout pitcher and because of the walks, he had a terrible 2.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

I’m sure moving cross-country in the middle of the season wasn’t easy, and he also went from a very pitcher-friendly park in San Francisco to Yankee Stadium which, for righties, is not all that friendly because of the short porch. Hopefully he can settle in at the start of spring training and be more consistent now that he’s used to his surroundings.

Ryan Yarbrough: B-

Like Cruz, Yarbrough’s injury in mid-June was a tough one for the Yankees because he was just settling into his role at the back of the rotation as the replacement for Clarke Schmidt. He made eight starts - one of those a tremendous six-inning performance to earn a win against the Dodgers - and had a 3.83 ERA which was pretty surprising. When he returned in September he went back to the bullpen, but now that he has been re-signed, he may get a chance as a starter in 2026 because the Yankees will not have Schmidt, Gerrit Cole or Carlos Rodon to start the season.