With the Yankees‘ most recent loss coming after a bullpen disaster, there’s no doubt in my mind that this team will look to bolster the backend of their bullpen this summer.
Luke Weaver and Devin Williams have formed a deadly duo, but the middle innings are full of question marks and uncertainty, and they could use that reliable third arm to reinforce that group.
Brian Cashman has acquired a reliever in each of the last four trade deadlines, even 2023 when the team was out of the playoff race and stood pat for the most part.
You can bank on the New York Yankees acquiring a reliever this winter, and today we’re going to look at five relievers at various price points whom they could pursue this upcoming summer.
Gregory Soto – Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles seem to be out of the playoff race despite playing much better baseball as of late, and Gregory Soto could provide a hard-throwing sinkerballer with excellent strikeout numbers.
Among qualified left-handed relievers, Soto has the ninth-highest strikeout rate (30%) while having the 10th lowest FIP (2.72), two stats that should lead to even better results this summer.
He’s also in the 87th Percentile in Expected ERA (2.91) due to his ability to avoid hard contact while generating swings and misses, and his fastball velocity is a huge plus as well.
Gregory Soto’s sinker is sitting at 96.7 MPH on his sinker, a pitch that has limited hitters to a .283 SLG% with a -4-degree Launch Angle.
Gregory Soto, Filthy Sliders…and Swords. ⚔️⚔️ pic.twitter.com/9WrBOtIU6D
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 19, 2023
His best pitch however is his slider, which has generated a 48.9% Whiff% with a .309 SLG% allowed, as this pitch works well against both lefties and righties due to his funky armslot.
These two pitches alone would be enough for me to support this kind of acquisition, but his four-seam fastball is a third pitch that can keep batters honest due to how well it plays at the top of the zone.
If the Orioles choose to sell, Gregory Soto and his expiring contract would be likely to go, and I don’t think the price to pay would be hefty either, which keeps the door open to other additions.
A talented southpaw who throws hard while also having a brilliant breaking ball, Gregory Soto could make the Yankees a lot better.
Jake Bird – Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are horrific, and Jake Bird could be dealt to help them get some prospect capital at this year’s deadline.
The right-hander has been brilliant despite pitching in harsh conditions at Coors Field with an abhorrent defense behind him, posting a 2.06 ERA with a 31.5% strikeout rate and a 47.1% groundball rate.
His fastball doesn’t have overpowering velocity, but with 30.3 inches of vertical drop, it’s a tough pitch to lift or generate solid contact against.
Bird pairs this sinker with a brilliant slider, generating a 33.3% Whiff% while hitters have put up a .277 wOBA allowed, and this slider has tons of sweep (14 inches) with some riding action as well.
Jake Bird’s Disgusting Stuff. 🕊️🤮
5Ks in 2 IP. pic.twitter.com/t1O8cHfkKF
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 11, 2025
This kind of profile for a right-handed pitcher would serve to be ineffective against left-handed hitters, but Bird has a curveball that allows him to rip through them with ease.
With 51.1 inches of drop and 15.9 inches of lateral movement, this pitch has a 39.4% Whiff% and zero extra-base hits allowed.
If the Yankees were to acquire Jake Bird, the Yankees would have three more years of control after the 2025 season, and his ability to eat up multiple innings of work make him a versatile bullpen weapon.
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David Bednar – Pittsburgh Pirates
A power pitcher who is having his best season to date arguably, David Bednar is striking out over 34% of batters faced with a 2.93 ERA across 31 appearances.
His stuff is elite, sporting a fastball that’s sitting 97.1 MPH with elite vertical movement from a lower release height than expected for someone with that kind of heater.
The power fastball isn’t his best pitch, as he’s leaned more towards using his dominant secondary pitches to generate swings and misses at a higher rate.
His curveball is nearly 20 MPH slower than his fastball with over 53 inches of vertical drop, creating a massive difference in vertical movement off of the fastball.
David Bednar, K’ing the Side in the 9th. pic.twitter.com/xtjYiSbwhd
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 7, 2025
Bednar also has an excellent splitter, a pitch that has over 13 inches of vertical separation off of his fastball, generating 42% Whiff Rate.
If the Yankees could add someone like David Bednar to their bullpen, they could have one of the most dominant three-headed monsters any bullpen could possibly have.
His stuff is elite, his command has improved, and he’s pitching a lot smarter than we’ve seen in previous seasons.
With control through the 2026 season and seeing that both Devin Williams and Luke Weaver are free agents, the Yankees could have built-in insurance in the scenario that they lose both of their closers in the winter.
Hoby Milner – Texas Rangers
Not a sexy name, Hoby Milner has become one of the most underrated relievers in baseball.
Texas acquired him in free agency for just $2.5 million, and he’s posted a 2.06 ERA and 2.01 FIP across 39.1 innings of work.
His stuff grades out extremely well in Stuff+ models despite rarely even reaching 90 MPH on his sinker or four-seam fastballs.
Milner has a sweeper, sinker, changeup, and four-seamer which means he has at least two pitches to use against lefties or righties.
Hoby Milner, Wicked 80mph Back Foot Sweeper…and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/cq2nSs04U1
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 1, 2024
Righties are hitting .198 with a .272 SLG% against Hoby Milner because he has good vertical drop on his changeup and can sneak his four-seamer up at the top of the zone due to his -6-degree arm angle.
His sinker generates 18.2 inches of run with 36.6 inches of drop while his sweeper has 15.3 inches of sweep and 45.2 inches of drop.
The Yankees could add a reliable veteran lefty who has a 3.21 ERA and 51.3% groundball rate across the last four seasons, recording at least 60 innings pitched from 2022-2024 and pacing to do it again in 2025.
Hoby Milner is that Honda Civic your buddy swears by; you don’t think of their car as glamourous, but it’s reliable, affordable, and does the job at a high-level.
(Did you know Hoby Milner has the eighth-most fWAR among relievers this year?)
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Jhoan Duran – Minnesota Twins
There’s no way the Yankees make another blockbuster trade for a closer, right?
Jhoan Duran has a 1.78 ERA and 2.34 xERA across 37 appearances, generating a 71.1% GB% while striking out 26.8% of batters faced due to his 97.5 MPH splinker and 100.2 MPH four-seam fastball.
New York attempted to acquire Duran in the past, and given their current bullpen struggles, they could ask about him again.
With a dominant repertoire that hitters simply cannot square-up for solid contact, Duran is one of the best relievers in all of baseball, and he immediately solves their lack of fastball velocity.
Jhoan Duran, 102mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/iQCgYDH2Uq
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 11, 2025
Jhoan Duran has the fourth-highest GB% and the eighth-highest fWAR among qualified relievers since he debuted in 2022.
Last year he didn’t look as dominant as we’ve been used to seeing, but in 2025 he has the highest GB% and is the only qualified reliever to sport one north of 70%.
Duran, alongside the aformentioned Hoby Milner, is one of just 10 qualified relievers who has yet to allow a home run in 2025.
You want the Yankees to add more dominant flamethrowers? It’ll cost a lot, but Jhoan Duran will do just that for New York, and while I’d bet against them finalizing a deal with the Twins for him, I wouldn’t rule it out either.
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