The Yankees’ Bullpen Will Have a Unique Approach in 2025
The New York Yankees have had a reputation for piecing together a quality bullpen with reclamation projects in recent years, and although it was a solid unit in 2024, there was a lack of strikeouts.
Brian Cashman and the front office made a conscious effort to add more swing-and-miss pitchers this offseason with the trades for Devin Williams and Fernando Cruz.
There is one overarching theme when digging even deeper into the types of pitchers the Yankees will rely on to pitch high-leverage innings.
To illustrate this, we will focus on Williams and Cruz, starting with the returning Luke Weaver.
Luke Weaver
Weaver is an example of a Yankees reclamation project, with pitching coach Matt Blake receiving much of the credit. The former starting pitcher became a force in the back of the Yankees’ bullpen, eventually taking on the closer role. When looking at Weaver’s pitch mix, the Yankees’ apparent vision becomes clear.
In 2024, Weaver predominantly threw a fastball (48%) and a changeup (28%), according to Baseball Savant. Specifically against right-handed batters, the Weaver threw his changeup 35.5% of the time. It is not usual for a right-handed pitcher to lean so heavily on his changeup against right-handed batters, but that was the Yankees’ plan with Weaver. It led to success, and Weaver had a 31.1% strikeout rate, which was in the 93rd percentile in 2024. That was a dynamic that much of the Yankees’ bullpen was lacking outside of Weaver.
Devin Williams
PHOTO: Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
Williams is an established pitcher and one of the best, if not the best, closers in MLB, so Blake and the coaching staff will likely not have to change much with him in 2025. However, Williams is known as “The Airbender,” mainly due to his nasty changeup, which he threw 45% of the time in 2024, according to Baseball Savant.
He threw it 47.9% of the time against right-handed batters as well. Williams’ changeup is one of the most unique pitches in baseball, but his recipe for success fits what the Yankees have done in the bullpen.
Fernando Cruz
Cruz is another pitcher with high whiff and strikeout rates but is more of a reclamation project that the Yankees have become known for in the bullpen. He will specifically need to reign in the 12.2% walk rate from 2024.
Cruz features a splitter (42%), fastball (32%), and cutter (26%), according to Baseball Savant. The splitter essentially serves the same purpose as the changeup does for Weaver and Williams. Cruz threw that splitter 40.8% of the time against right-handed batters.
Weaver’s changeup grades out fine, with a 100 Stuff+ (100 is league average) in 2024, according to FanGraphs. Williams’ changeup unsurprisingly grades out incredibly, with a 125 Stuff+ grade in 2024. Cruz’s splitter had a 121 Stuff+ grade in 2024. There is reason to believe that if all three pitchers locate their changeups/splitters and utilize them properly, the results will be positive.
Mark Leither Jr.
Mark Leiter Jr. is another Yankees reliever who features a splitter, and the hope is for him to put it all together in 2025 in his first full season in the Bronx. He is another example of the Yankees leaning into changeups and splitters, especially against right-handed batters.
The likelihood is that this represents an organizational philosophy rather than just happenstance.
The Yankees are leaning into right-on-right change-ups and splitters more than anyone else in MLB, according to Eno Sarris of The Athletic.
Leaning into a strategy that no one else in MLB does can benefit the pitching side because batters will be attacked in a way that they do not see often throughout the year, catching them off guard.
The ballpark dimensions could be at play here as well. Changeups and splitters can be good pitches to help limit fly balls, and that is a good recipe for success in a home run-friendly Yankee Stadium. Still, it is not all about generating contact, as Weaver, Williams, and Cruz are all successful at striking batters out.
To succeed in the MLB, teams must be ahead of the curve.
Leaning into right-on-right change-ups and splitters could be an example of the Yankees doing that if the plan is successful in 2025.
PHOTO: Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
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Categorized:Yankees