With the Yankees in Texas on Sept. 3, Wyatt Langford made it crystal clear that the Bombers’ bullpen required a change.
The Rangers’ rookie smoked a walk-off grand slam against Clay Holmes that night, resulting in the reliever’s 11th blown save of the year. Holmes had already lost the support of Yankees fans weeks before that, but it wasn’t until the following day that Aaron Boone stripped the All-Star of the definitive closer’s title.
In doing so, Boone said the Yankees would “get a little creative” with the job and their bullpen. Instead, Luke Weaver quickly emerged as the team’s go-to finisher.
The former failed starter turned high-leverage reliever has not allowed a run over 11 innings since Sept. 4. He’s also struck out 24 batters and recorded four saves over that span.
Still, Weaver doesn’t consider himself Holmes’ replacement with the Yankees preparing for the ALDS.
“I want to make the record straight: I don’t I don’t view myself as the closer,” Weaver said Tuesday. “I feel myself as someone who goes out there and tries to get outs. When the phone rings, I’m ready to go.”
Boone has made similar comments on Weaver’s role, saying a few times that he’d be willing to use the charismatic righty in big situations prior to the final inning. The manager reiterated that point Tuesday, though he added, “I would expect him to hopefully close out some games for us” this October.
“He’s definitely one of the best we got down there and a guy that obviously I trust a lot,” Boone continued.
Weaver’s success predates his switch to unofficial closer. After re-signing with the Yankees over the offseason, adopting a slide-step delivery and altering the grip on his fastball, Weaver went from a starter with a career 5.14 ERA to a reliever with a 2.89 mark this season. He led Yankees relievers with 84 innings pitched.
“He’s definitely performed well in the biggest moments of the regular season,” Boone said. “He’s a better pitcher than he’s probably ever been in his life, and that’s a credit to him for some of the adjustments he’s made and how he’s embraced going to the bullpen. But he’s had an outstanding season, and whatever role that I put him in, he’s flourished.”
Shortly after that comment, Weaver was asked if his 2024 campaign surprised him at all given his struggles and tough time staying healthy in the past.
“Not really, no,” Weaver replied. “I know I surprised the world a little bit, but I feel like this game’s hard. I feel like this game comes with lots of success and a lot of failure. In my account, the failure has definitely filled up a lot of the chapters. But it was for good reason: it was preparing me for this moment.”
Weaver is not the only Yankees reliever who ended the regular season with strong numbers and/or on a high note.
Ian Hamilton allowed just one run and struck out 11 over eight innings after coming off the injured list on Sept. 9. Tommy Kahnle bookended his September with appearances that saw him allow two earned runs apiece, but he logged eight scoreless outings in between and finished the season with a 2.11 ERA.
Side-arming lefty Tim Hill recorded a 2.05 ERA after getting dumped by the historically awful White Sox. That number has been 1.33 since August began.
Jake Cousins, another White Sox cast-off, posted a 2.37 ERA with the Yankees and led the bullpen with a 34.2 K%. He ended his regular season on the IL with a pec injury but plans to be ready for the ALDS.
The numbers weren’t always this impressive for a relief core that has undergone numerous changes this season. The Yankees’ bullpen, littered with bargain bin finds, flailed earlier in the season, often mixing a lack of strikeouts with too many walks and too much contact.
Prior to Sept. 4, the unit ranked 12th with a 3.83 ERA and 21st with a 22.6 K%. From there, however, Yankees relievers pitched to the tune of a 2.43 ERA through the end of the season. That ranked third. The group’s 31.9 K% over that span ranked second.
“I’m excited about them. A lot of them are throwing the ball really well,” Boone said of his pen entering the playoffs. “I’ve said this a lot, but they do complement each other well now with some different skill sets and different attributes that hopefully serves us well moving forward.”
Holmes remains the biggest question mark in the Yankees’ pen, as he managed to blow two more saves prior to the ninth inning after being stripped of his closer’s role. In doing so, he tied the franchise’s single-season record for blown saves in a season, but he also recorded his 30th save in the final game of the year.
Holmes, whose rough outings were often chalked up to bad luck given his proneness to contact, didn’t allow a run over his last five games, though those weren’t always smooth.
Boone has said that the pitcher will get “big outs” for the Yankees.
“Clay is an elite human. He’s a professional through and through,” Weaver said. “This game is hard. It comes through ups and downs. Personally, I feel like he’s thrown well all year. There’s moments that we all wish we could have back. Sometimes they stream together. Sometimes they’re in unfortunate circumstances. But I’m his biggest fan, and at the end of the day, he supports me as much as I support him.”
A few other spots in the Yankees’ bullpen remain up in the air with the ALDS beginning Saturday.
Luis Gil or Clarke Schmidt will join the group — one is expected to start one of the games — as could a few pitchers at the back of the Yankees’ depth chart. The team still has to decide if it will carry 12 or 13 pitchers for the ALDS, and pitching coach Matt Blake said the team is still deliberating on names.
Asked if it was important to have a second lefty reliever — Tim Mayza is the only one besides Hill — the pitching coach said yes.
“Hill and Mayza have been outstanding for us against lefties,” Blake said, “so I think both of them are strongly in the mix to be on the roster.”
The Yankees must also decide what to do with Marcus Stroman and Mark Leiter Jr. Neither made solid impressions this year, with Stroman pitching poorly as a starter in the second half before being booted to the bullpen.
Boone said that Stroman is “definitely still in consideration” and that he could “protect us in a bunch of different spots” by providing length.
Even if Stroman does make the roster, something would have to go wrong for him to pitch in high-leverage situations. That work will be reserved for the names mentioned up top, with all eyes on Weaver as he gets his first taste of postseason action.
Back on Sept. 6, he said that he “blacked out” when he recorded his first-career save at Wrigley Field. Now that he’s a little more experienced as a closer, Weaver is hoping to avoid that sensation on baseball’s biggest stage.
Still, he knows he’ll need to take “one big, deep breath, look around, soak it in, use it to my advantage, and channel it” when he enters his first playoff game.
“I hope I don’t do the blackout thing that I had mentioned, but I do know my heart beat is going to be up,” Weaver said with a smile. “It’s going to be inevitable.”
