Sometimes the magic of baseball lies in its unpredictability. One day, a 35-year-old reliever with a shaky ERA shows up in camp.
A few weeks later, he’s dominating games, baffling hitters, and making fans wonder how the Yankees always seem to pull this off.
Fernando Cruz wasn’t brought in with buzz or expectation — he was acquired quietly from the Reds this past offseason.
His 4.91 ERA in 2023 and 4.86 ERA in 2024 offered little reason for optimism on paper.
But as is often the case in the Bronx, the Yankees saw something that others didn’t — and they’ve unlocked it fast.
A pitch mix that’s completely transformed his game
Cruz’s numbers this year are jaw-dropping compared to what he’s done in past seasons.
Through 16.2 innings, he holds a 1.62 ERA with a staggering 14.51 strikeouts per nine and a 71.4% left-on-base rate.
The transformation stems from a shift in pitch usage that’s emphasized what he does best — throwing an elite splitter.
Last year, Cruz used the pitch 41.7% of the time. This year, that number has jumped to 54.3%, and the impact has been immediate.
Opponents are hitting just .081 against the pitch with a ridiculous .108 slugging percentage, turning it into a nightmare to square up.
The splitter is doing things hitters just can’t handle
Cruz’s splitter doesn’t just dip — it dives like it’s attached to a string being yanked at the last second.
It’s averaging nearly 40 inches of vertical drop, giving it wiffle ball-like movement that leaves hitters guessing.
That movement has helped Cruz post a 0.0% barrel rate allowed so far this season, ranking in the 98th percentile or higher.
He’s also sitting in the 93rd percentile in hard-hit rate and whiff rate — truly elite territory for any reliever.
The Yankees have pulled back his four-seam fastball and replaced it with more sinkers and sliders to complement the splitter.
While those pitches aren’t lights-out on their own, they keep hitters honest and allow the splitter to stay devastating.
The Yankees didn’t just get lucky — they made a calculated move
This wasn’t just a flier.
Cruz was a targeted acquisition by a team that knows how to shape under-the-radar arms into reliable weapons.
The Yankees saw the splitter’s metrics and understood that, with better usage and sequencing, they could build something special.
Cruz’s current fastball slugging rate of .250 is respectable, and when paired with the splitter, it becomes even tougher to handle.
He’s now being used in high-leverage situations and thriving under pressure — something very few expected when the season began.
A long-term weapon despite the age curve
At 35, it’s easy to assume Cruz might be a short-term solution.
But with team control through 2029, the Yankees are hoping he becomes a stable piece of the bullpen for years.
Even if velocity starts to dip with age, as long as Cruz maintains the movement on his splitter, he can still be effective.
That pitch alone is good enough to keep hitters off balance and rack up outs in big moments.
In a bullpen that’s constantly evolving, Cruz is quickly becoming one of the most valuable arms they have.
Popular Reading
The Yankees have a huge starting pitching problem
!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“has-featured-video”,”true”)})}();var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({“div”:”Brid_2109985″,”obj”:{“id”:”30505″,”width”:”1280″,”height”:”720″,”stickyDirection”:”below”,”video”:”2109985″,”poster”:”https://empiresportsmedia.com/wp-content/plugins/tpd-addons/blocks/featured-video/src/img/1×1-white.png”}});https://player.target-video.com/player/build/targetvideo.min.js