The Yankees are in need of bullpen support, especially from the left-handed side, and Jeff Passan of ESPN notes that there’s a prominent name on the market who could be traded.
Matt Strahm, the Phillies’ primary left-handed bullpen weapon, could be made available for trade, and he would help check plenty of boxes for the Yankees’ roster.
This past season he recorded a 2.74 ERA and 2.99 FIP, striking out 27% of batters faced while having a balanced pitch mix, which has kept him extremely effective in his time with the Phillies.
If the Yankees are going to add a reliever on the market, Strahm could be an excellent fit for a team that doesn’t seem willing to make a massive financial splash for their bullpen.
Why Matt Strahm is A Strong Fit For the Yankees’ Bullpen
This past season was another excellent one for Matt Strahm, who maintained strong strikeout rates and elite-level damage prevention, as despite being an extreme flyball pitcher in Philadelphia, he had a mere 0.72 HR/9.
A combination of excellent K-BB% numbers and a still-sharp fastball should give Strahm at least another season of quality late-inning performances for a contender.
Slotting him behind David Bednar as the team’s eighth-inning guy would give the Yankees one of the best four-man bullpen groups in the game.
Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, and Matt Strahm are excellent options to have bridge the gap between your starting pitcher and closer, and it moves Tim Hill out of the team’s primary lefty role.
This isn’t a perfect fit; the Yankees wouldn’t be improving their velocity issues from the previous season that could cause some complications against elite hitting, but there’s also positives that Strahm brings which could outweigh that.
His elite-level command allows him to avoid walks, something a lot of relievers on the Yankees’ roster struggle with, furthermore his high strikeout rates over the last few seasons are much-needed in the bullpen.
With that said, the Yankees’ lack of willingness to spend serious cash on their bullpen means opting for flawed targets or expensive trade pieces, and Strahm doesn’t come with the high trade price tag other relievers of his ilk might.
Dave Dombrowski might not be asking for a haul in return for Matt Strahm, who is on a one-year contract and is entering his age-34 campaign in 2026.
The Yankees could solve their bullpen issues and have an expiring contract that leaves the payroll after 2026, giving the team some less restricting financial commitments to solve a big hole on their big-league roster.