The Yankees bullpen has it all. It has an all-star fireballer, a sinker specialist, a split-ball guru, a couple of guys who rely on skill rather than pure stuff, a lefty who goes from pitch to contact, and some flawed but talented arms vying for a few spots. It is not difficult to see that, barring unexpected circumstances, some people have locked in their positions. This was the case with David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill. One has to assume Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn will be there as well.
After that, there are as many as six or seven pitchers who have at least a chance to make the roster, not to mention that teams are often also long-term looking at post-spring practice cuts to add names. Guys like Jake Byrd , Cade Winqvist , Kerwin Castro , Osvaldo Vido , Angel Chiveli , Brent Hedrick , and Yerry de los Santos are all actively competing to see who makes the roster, and if we combine the work of the offseason, early training camp, and the first few days of Grapefruit League play, most of them look good.
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It’s still February, though, so it’s too early to think about who makes the roster in this group and who is left behind. What we see, however, is that there are at least a couple of interesting names on this list that might be superficial.
Just because of the assets invested in them, one could conclude that Winquest, as a Rule 5 draft pick, and Bird and Chivili as trade pieces that require the organization to give up prospects, could be in contention. Still, it’s important not to rule out someone like Headrick, who had a 3.13 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 23 innings with the Bombers last year. His swing and misses could definitely bolster the Yankees bullpen and give them another lefty to complement Hill.
Yes, there’s still a feeling that the Yankees are one or two quality relievers away from having a high-level bullpen, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t talented pitchers in the organization who are capable enough to earn a spot and contribute.
Bird himself is a solid rebound candidate after last year’s disaster, pitching 2.1 scoreless innings this spring with no walks and three strikeouts. Chivili has high fastball velocity and two breaking balls, his changeup and slider, and his success rate last year was over 40%. Sometimes it’s a matter of getting players to make one or two adjustments to reach their full potential, and Chivili could be that guy.
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If the Grapefruit League ends and the Yankees are still unhappy with their bullpen lineup, they can always look back at other teams’ promotions and bring in a serviceable pitcher. That’s exactly how they got Yarbrough last year, who posted a 4.36 ERA in 64 innings in 2025 and was dominant for a long time. On top of that, the Yankees’ relievers could also get some reinforcements in the form of starters if Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clark Schmidt rejoin the rotation. The first two games are expected to take place in April, with Schmidt playing more of the second half.
Other unexpected names could end up joining the bullpen mix, such as Carlos LaGrange. Yes, pitching coach Matt Black revealed Wednesday that it’s possible to move him to reliever status later.
There are many paths to building a great bullpen, and getting a few talented players to take the ball in spring training and show off their progress in the postseason in healthy games is definitely one of them. The Yankees may not have a top-five bullpen this year, but there’s plenty of internal competition, which is always a positive.