The 2025 Yankees are an impossible team to understand; they have the highest wOBA in baseball (.355) and the second-lowest wOBA allowed (.284) yet find themselves just three games above .500. In a division with no other team above that mark, being three games over isn’t the worst thing in the world, but they have left so much on the table in the win column.
No team in baseball has suffered more defeats leading after eight innings than the Yankees have, masking a lot of the good we’ve seen early on. If the Yankees want to win the American League East and go on a deep playoff run, they need to have some of their luck turn around, but through the first ~20% of the season, it’s become increasingly clear that some changes need to be made to the roster.
Trades don’t happen in May, but these subtle changes in personnel usage could have a dramatic effect on the Yankees’ win percentage moving forward.
The Yankees Desperately Need to Change Up the Bullpen Pecking Order
Last night was another disaster for Devin Williams, who walked Tyler Wade and Luis Arraez to open the door for the San Diego Padres in the eighth inning. The loss shouldn’t fall entirely on him, Luke Weaver did come in and give up the hits that eventually blew the lead, but allowing hits due to mistakes in-zone is more understandable than walking a terrible hitter.
To be a high-leverage reliever, you have to be razor-sharp, but more importantly, you need to take the free outs that an opposing lineup gives you. Tyler Wade’s strong numbers this season are a mirage that has no bearing on how you attack him; three fastballs down the middle is a more acceptable outcome than walking him. While wet conditions didn’t help Williams’ case, realizing only after the game that he should have asked for mound maintenance is just not going to cut it.
This has turned from a frustrating slump to an unmitigated disaster, as if Devin Williams converted a clean inning yesterday, against Toronto, and in Tampa, the Yankees would be 22-13. He has cost the Yankees big games, and he should simply not be allowed to pitch in any situation of relative importance to the outcome of the game moving forward. You do not owe him any money beyond the 2025 season, and you can win games without him, given the bullpen depth.
It would be to the Yankees’ benefit if he turned things around, and I understand why Aaron Boone is trying to get him back on track, but that should be done exclusively in scenarios where the team is trailing by multiple runs or winning by a considerable margin. He isn’t the only pitcher who should have their reliever responsibilities altered, the same should be said for both Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill.
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Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill are fourth and fifth in Leverage Index upon entering the game despite being the second and third best relievers on this team. Aaron Boone needs to stop bringing in Hill as the guy to deliver a clean inning after a game’s already been blown; he needs to be utilized as the guy who comes in to help hand the game off to Luke Weaver. I am pro-Mark Leiter Jr. and believe he’s underrated by fans, but he should not have a more important role in the bullpen than Hill or Cruz.
His Leverage Index upon entering the inning is the second-highest on the team, which does not make any sense given that he has been here for roughly as long as Tim Hill while performing considerably worse. Hill is a strike-thrower who often puts the team in position to get a double play even when he does issue the rare free pass, but as an aggressive pitcher who goes right after hitters, he’ll only get beat if teams are capable of barreling his sinker or if the defense behind him fails.
As for Fernando Cruz, he has been arguably the best reliever on the team this season and has not been used in critical situations as frequently as Devin Williams or Mark Leiter Jr. through this point. Pre-season reputation played a role in that, so I won’t chastize the Yankees for that, but moving forward, it has to change if they want to win more games. I also think Ian Hamilton has become underutilized relative to his talent level, being used almost exclusively in lower-leverage situations despite having both a reputation of delivering for the Yankees and excellent results on the mound in 2025.
Mark Leiter Jr. can work as their 6th inning guy, Tim Hill needs to stop being held out until the lead has already been blown, Fernando Cruz’s role in the bullpen should mirror Luke Weaver’s last season in terms of importance (not volume), and Ian Hamilton needs more late-inning reps. Put your best pitchers in the most critical points of a game, and you’ll see your actual win total match your expected one.
Shaking Up the Rotation In the Next Time Through the Order
Carlos Carrasco does not have competitive MLB stuff, and the Yankees need to stop treating him as valuable MLB depth that cannot be let go. While Toronto signed Spencer Turnbull in the face of rotation injuries, the Yankees have sat on their hands, keeping the same aging veteran who threw out a first pitch in last season’s postseason for Cleveland in their starting five to get torched.
It would be easier to stomach if he weren’t sharing rotation time with Will Warren, a rookie who has yet to show the signs of confidence or progress in his command to be an effective starter. As mentioned earlier, the Yankees have a good-enough bullpen to do something like try a bullpen game, and it’s not as if they haven’t burned their bullpen already due to the short starts from Carrasco and Warren.
Allan Winans can come up for Carlos Carrasco and replace him in the rotation. He isn’t particularly good, but there are notable improvements to his slider, changeup, and sinker, which are all generating more lateral movement than last season. Furthermore, you can use Ryan Yarbrough as an opener for Will Warren. We’ve seen the crafty left-hander provide mostly solid performances in a long-relief role while you let a rookie pitch in a role similar to Jhony Brito’s in 2023.
Brito had an ERA and FIP even higher than Will Warren’s as a starter in 2023, but as a reliever, he posted a 1.43 ERA and 2.51 FIP before being traded for Juan Soto later that offseason.
There is nothing of value to the on-field product lost by losing Carlos Carrasco, the Yankees can move Cam Schlittler up to Triple-A and prepare him in case of an injury after you move up Allan Winans. It would behoove the Yankees to move up Schlittler because he has the velocity and repertoire to compete in a Major League role, and it would open a slot in Somerset for one of their dominant Hudson Valley pitchers to move up a level.
It would also have a trickle-down effect to Single-A, as Griffin Herring just won Florida State League Pitcher of the Month and is ready for a promotion. This article might underwhelm some because the offense isn’t being mentioned, but they’re just slumping, and that’s pretty normal after having a wRC+ north of 130 for an entire month. Defensively, they need to be better, but they’ve looked spotty, partially as a result of Jazz Chisholm being hurt and the one game without Anthony Volpe.
Not showing the urgency to acquire an infielder has bit them in the rear, but there’s nothing Aaron Boone could have done about that, nor can he do anything about it right now. What he can do is change the pitching staff around and make some tough but necessary decisions to alter the trust tree and get away from using five traditional starters. This rotation does not have the depth to do it, and they’re leaving wins on the table every week they don’t go to a bullpen game.