Having lost Tommy Kahnle to free agency and Zack Britton to injury, the typically stacked Yankee bullpen was a rare unknown heading into the 2021 season, with plenty of question marks behind Aroldis Chapman and Chad Green.
So far, the bullpen has been the strength of the team, ranking near the top of the league in almost every statistical category, with Chapman and Green looking like their vintage selves while normally shaky relievers like Jonathan Loaisiga have been surprisingly dominant.
Only the thriving bullpen continues to make its appearance far too early in games, and rarely come in with a lead.
While the bullpen has been clicking, the rotation outside of Gerrit Cole hasn’t, and if it doesn’t correct itself, the bullpen could fatigue and lose its value sooner than later. Of the eight starts made by pitchers other than Cole this season, only two outings have lasted through five full innings, and only three have made it into the fifth inning. Jameson Taillon was the latest culprit, lasting just 3.2 innings in Tuesday’s loss to the Blue Jays, despite the righty throwing 84 pitches.
“They’ve had to pick up some innings for starters not named Gerrit a few times,” Taillon said of the bullpen after Tuesday’s loss. “I was able to get that pitch count up and wasn’t able to match the innings with that. They were able to cover the innings and to keep us in the game and make it interesting late.”
With 84 pitches, Taillon is nearing a typical full-game workload after missing the last nearly two years to a second Tommy John surgery. The rest of the staff, like Domingo German and Corey Kluber, also didn’t throw in 2020 (Kluber pitched one inning), while Jordan Montgomery is beginning what hopes to be his first full season since his own Tommy John surgery. Those arms need to be built back up, but after a full spring training and multiple regular season starts, the Yanks need more length from all four of those arms, and give their bullpen a rest more often than just days when Cole is on the bump.
“Part of that is by design as we continue to build guys up, but we’re certainly getting to that point where we’re higher in the build-up,” Aaron Boone said. “I think they’re all ready to pop. The stuff is there. But it’s hard to lean on the bullpen for as many innings every night. I feel like we have the guys to do it and they are really close to popping.”
Some look closer than others. Montgomery looked dominant in his first start of the season, going six shutout innings against the Orioles, but then was knocked around in his next start against a stronger Rays lineup. The starting rotation was the biggest question mark for the team heading into the season, and so far, the answer to that question is clear: more length is needed to avoid the bullpen turning from an asset to a tired liability.
“As starters, if our bullpen is going to pitch really well, not just now, but for the entire year, we need to optimize how they’re being used and not just use them early in games,” Taillon said.
Taillon is pitching in his first regular season action since May of 2019, and there is likely still more rust to be shaken off for himself and Kluber, who is trying to put in a full season after tossing just over 36 innings over the last two years. The staff believes it can get to a place of consistency, but it better happen soon if the Yanks want to find their stride.
“As a starter, you want to go deep into games,” Taillon said. “I think the good thing about this group is that we’re pretty self-aware…I think the adjustments will be made, but obviously right now, we’re not going deep enough into games. We’re not getting it done. We need to start picking it up, and I think we will.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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