Adam Warren Archives - Page 3 of 21

Game Six: Another Rainy Afternoon

April 4, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Great start to the home schedule yesterday. The Yankees blew out the Rays thanks to Didi Gregorius, and this afternoon they’ll look to complete the quick two-game series sweep. The Yankees are 3-2 so far this season and are basically one David Robertson pitch away from being 4-1. Alas. That’s baseball.

In the lineup for the first time today is Ronald Torreyes. He is the last remaining player on the roster to appear in a game this season. Even call-ups Billy McKinney and Miguel Andujar beat him to game action. Hopefully Toe does Toe things and contact bombs the Rays this afternoon. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF Giancarlo Stanton
4. DH Gary Sanchez
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. 3B Brandon Drury
7. 1B Tyler Austin
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Ronald Torreyes

RHP Luis Severino

Tampa Bay Rays
1. LF Denard Span
2. CF Kevin Kiermaier
3. DH C.J. Cron
4. 1B Brad Miller
5. C Wilson Ramos
6. 2B Joey Wendle
7. SS Adeiny Hechavarria
8. RF Mallex Smith
9. 3B Daniel Robertson

LHP Blake Snell

Another rainy morning in New York. At least it’s warmer than yesterday. The rain has stopped already and it looks like they’ll get today’s game in. First pitch is scheduled for shortly after 1pm ET. You can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out of market. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: Aaron Hicks (intercostal) hit off a tee yesterday and he’s scheduled to take about 80 swings today. The Yankees are pretty confident Hicks will return once his ten days on the disabled list are up … Adam Warren (ankle) is over the bruise and is available.

Roster Update: Aaron Boone said the recently claimed Trayce Thompson will go to Triple-A for now. Huh, didn’t expect that. Boone did say the Yankees will discuss it further, however. Thompson is out of options, so he has to go through waivers again to go to the minors. The Yankees are pretty low on the waiver priority list, which tells you most teams passed. He’ll probably get through this time.

Update (12:35pm ET): The game will start in a delay, the Yankees have announced. Lame. There’s no word on a start time yet.

Update (1:57pm ET): The game is tentatively scheduled to begin at 2:35pm ET, so say the Yankees.

For the Yanks, the bullpen has been an unexpected weakness early in 2018

April 2, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Today, for the first time this season, the Yankees’ bullpen did not allow a run. And that’s only because the home opener was snowed out. The home opener has been rescheduled for tomorrow, assuming the weather cooperates. Whenever the Yankees play next, they’ll look to get the first scoreless game from their bullpen in 2018.

Here are the combined bullpen numbers through four games: 13.1 IP, 12 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 5 BB, 18 K, 4 HR. Yikes. Only three relievers in the eight-man bullpen have yet to be charged with a run: Chad Green (still awesome), Jonathan Holder (allowed an inherited runner to score), and Chasen Shreve (hasn’t pitched yet). David Robertson has already allowed as many runs this year (four in two innings) as he did with the Yankees after the trade last year (four in 35 innings). Not great.

The Yankees are built to win games like the two they lost. Tie game in the late innings like Saturday? The bullpen holds it down until someone on offense smacks a dinger. Three-run lead with three innings to go like Sunday? It’s supposed to be in the bag. Alas, things don’t always go according to plan, and the bullpen has been scored upon in all four games thus far. A few thoughts about this.

1. Dude, it’s four games. Obligatory small sample size reminder. Extremely small sample size, at that. Regardless of your opinion of the Josh Donaldson intentional walk, at some point we have to acknowledge Justin Smoak had a monster at-bat against Robertson. Nine pitches, fouled away a bunch of great curveballs. It really was a great at-bat. Sometimes you just get beat. I didn’t like the intentional walk, but credit Smoak for that battle.

Anyway, as long as everyone is healthy, I feel pretty confident the key late inning relievers — specifically Green, Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle — will be excellent. Green’s been great so far as it is. Also, getting Adam Warren back from his ankle bruise will help as well. Bullpens have bad series. It happens. When it happens in the first series of the regular season, it feels more meaningful even though it’s really not. The talent is still there.

“It’s gonna be a strength, I am confident in that,” said Aaron Boone following Sunday’s game. “Everything is a little bit magnified, obviously, in the early days, good and bad. I’m really comfortable over time that those guys will continue to do their thing and it will continue to not just be a strength, but I think an overwhelming strength for this club.”

2. Boone has to be more judicious with Betances. I expect Green, Robertson, Kahnle, Warren, and Aroldis Chapman to be fine going forward. Dellin Betances is a different animal, for better or worse. He’s given up two home runs in two appearances — his second homer came in his 56th appearance last year — which is unusual and annoying. Then again, every pitcher seems more homer prone these days. It’s happening to everyone.

Betances has only walked one of the 13 batters he’s faced so far (and he was squeezed a bit), which is encouraging after last year, but it’s 13 batters. The larger point here is that while having confidence in your players is a good thing, Dellin is at the point where he has to earn back trust, and Boone has to be more selective with him. Eighth inning with a five-run lead on Opening Day? Perfect. Pushing him for a second inning in the late innings of a tie game Saturday? Eh.

I’m a Betances believer. I think he’ll have a typical Dellin season, which means gobs of strikeouts and not much in the way of hard contact. Boone obviously expects Betances to dominate as well. Until he shows he can consistently though, Boone has to pick his spots with him. Use him for an inning at a time and in lower leverage spots. Dellin was a multi-inning monster from 2014-16. Those multi-inning days are pretty much over.

3. Eight relievers is one too many. Still not a fan of the eight-man bullpen. I get it, I totally do. Teams don’t want to overwork anyone early in the season and they’re terrified of running out of arms. And yet, four games into the season Shreve has yet to pitch, Warren has faced three batters, and Holder has faced two batters. It’s not like the starters have pitched super deep into games either. CC Sabathia went five innings and Sonny Gray went four.

The presence of the eighth reliever creates some sense of obligation to actually use him from time to time. The Yankees hadn’t played since Monday when Holder was brought into Saturday’s game, and I think that factored into the decision to use him. He needed work! Want to improve the bullpen? Get rid of the weakest link. If things go haywire and a fresh arm or two is needed the next day, you call them up. Eighth relievers, man. Teams want them but they’re never really all that useful.

4. If the Yankees have to make changes, they will. It’s still way too early to freak out about the bullpen. Can we at least give them a homestand first? Please? If the sample grows and the struggles continue, and the Yankees have to adjust their bullpen personnel, they will. They did last year. Maybe that means call-ups, maybe it means trades. If the current group doesn’t do the job the Yankees will make changes.

The bullpen at the end of the season very rarely looks like the Opening Day bullpen. Injuries and poor performance inevitably lead to roster changes throughout the season and nowhere on the roster is that more applicable than in the bullpen. Relievers are inherently volatile. If changes are necessary, changes will be made. Right now, it’s way too early to say changes are necessary. Bullpens have bad series now and then, even great ones. The Yankees’ vaunted bullpen just had a bad series, and right now, it’s too early to say it’s anything more than that.

Update: Yankees announce 2018 Opening Day roster

March 29, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

March 29th: The Yankees officially announced their Opening Day roster this morning. It is as expected, only with Tyler Austin replacing the injured Greg Bird. The roster has been updated below. Also, Tyler Wade and Jonathan Holder have new numbers. Wade will wear No. 12 (had been No. 39) and Holder will wear No. 56 (had been No. 65)

March 24th: The Yankees have not yet made an official announcement, but the 2018 Opening Day roster is set. Domingo German was optioned out Saturday, and Brian Cashman told Pete Caldera that Jonathan Holder will be in the Opening Day bullpen as the eighth reliever. Here is the Opening Day roster:

CATCHERS (2)
Austin Romine
Gary Sanchez

INFIELDERS (6)
~~Greg Bird~~ Tyler Austin
Brandon Drury
Didi Gregorius
Ronald Torreyes
Tyler Wade
Neil Walker

OUTFIELDERS (4)
Brett Gardner
Aaron Hicks
Aaron Judge
Giancarlo Stanton

STARTING PITCHERS (5)
RHP Sonny Gray
LHP Jordan Montgomery
LHP CC Sabathia
RHP Luis Severino
RHP Masahiro Tanaka

RELIEF PITCHERS (8)
RHP Dellin Betances
LHP Aroldis Chapman
RHP Chad Green
RHP Jonathan Holder
RHP Tommy Kahnle
RHP David Robertson
LHP Chasen Shreve
RHP Adam Warren

DISABLED LIST (3)
Greg Bird (ankle, 10-day DL retroactive to March 26)
Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique, 10-day DL retroactive to March 26)
Clint Frazier (concussion, 7-day DL retroactive to March 26)

Cashman said German is going to Triple-A Scranton to remain stretched out as a starter. German and Luis Cessa are presumably the sixth and seventh starters in whatever order. Usually when a sixth starter is needed, it’s more about who’s available to pitch that day rather than who the team wants to pitch that day though.

Anyway, there are no surprises with the Opening Day roster. We were just waiting to find out the identity of the eight reliever. Wade played well in Spring Training and won a roster spot, and the Drury trade and Walker signing all but guaranteed Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres would begin the season in Triple-A. They’ll be up soon enough.

Obligatory reminder: The Opening Day roster and the end-of-season roster tend to look very different. Here is last year’s Opening Day roster, for example. Holder is keeping a roster spot warm for Ellsbury, who has already resumed playing in Grapefruit League games. He could be back soon. Frazier’s concussion looks to be more long-term, unfortunately.

The Yankees begin the season against the Blue Jays on Thursday, March 29th. There are still five days to go before the season opener, so the Opening Day roster could change if someone gets hurt — example: Drury taking a pitch to the elbow yesterday, though he escaped with a bruise — but hopefully that won’t be the case.

The Overqualified Last Two Relievers in the Bullpen [2018 Season Preview]

March 21, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Yankees have built an impressively deep bullpen thanks to Chad Green’s breakout last year and the trade that brought David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle back to the organization. Add in Dellin Betances and those are four guys who could legitimately serve as the eighth inning high-leverage reliever for a contending club. The bullpen will be a strength for the 2018 Yankees. For sure.

In fact, the bullpen is so deep right now that Adam Warren and Chasen Shreve are the last two relievers on the roster. How many teams want an Adam Warren, a versatile right-hander who can pitch in pretty much any role, in their bullpen? How many teams wish they had a lefty with no platoon split who could throw multiple innings like Shreve? Warren and Shreve are overqualified sixth and seventh relievers. Let’s preview their season.

Warren’s Contract Year

Three years ago the Yankees traded Adam Warren to get Starlin Castro, and they had such a hard time finding someone to fill Warren’s role — Johnny Barbato, Kirby Yates, and Anthony Swarzak all took cracks at it, but no luck — that they wound up reacquiring Warren in the Aroldis Chapman trade. A right-hander with a resilient arm who can get outs in any situation for seemingly any length of time is a valuable piece.

Last season was a typical Warren season, or at least typical for the non-Cubs portion of his career. Warren threw 57.1 innings with a 2.35 ERA (3.02 FIP) while posting a career high strikeout rate (24.2%) and a career low walk rate (6.7%). He entered games in every inning but the first and second, and recorded as many as eight outs and as few as one out (in non-meltdown situations) in an appearance. That’s Warren, the Swiss Army Reliever.

Last year Warren took his slider usage to the extreme, throwing the pitch a career high 38.5% of the time. The slider has always been his go-to secondary pitch — he also throws a curveball and a changeup, even in relief — though last year, he threw it more than ever. Here is his fastball and slider usage rates over the years:

Kinda interesting Warren had the worst stretch of his career with the Cubs in the first half of the 2016 season (5.91 ERA and 5.83 FIP) while throwing more fastballs than sliders. With the Yankees, it has basically been an equal number of fastballs and sliders, at least until last year, when the slider reigned supreme. I get the sense that will continue this year. The Yankees throw fewer fastballs than any other team, after all.

Warren will play a sneaky big role this year. Betances, Green, Kahnle, and Roberson are the primary setup crew for Aroldis Chapman, leaving Warren as the primary “only when losing” reliever (so to speak). When you’re down, you want a reliever to come in and stop the other team from tacking on insurance runs. Warren can do that. And with the offense the Yankees have, they’ll never really be out of a game. Warren keeping the other team in check in the middle and late innings could turn a lot of deficits into wins.

This is also Warren’s contract year, which might be making him a little nervous given how the free agent market played out this winter. Then again, relievers still got paid. It’s too early to say whether the Yankees will try to re-sign Warren, though my hunch is they’ll walk away, especially if he’s looking for Tommy Hunter money (two years, $18M). The Yankees have plenty of young relievers to plug into that roster spot.

I’m a big Warren fan. I think he’s underrated overall and I think his versatility makes him more valuable than his ERA or his WAR or whatever would lead you to believe. He can pitch in any role and be effective and that’s not easy. That he is only sixth — sixth! — on the Opening Day bullpen depth chart is crazy. Warren has been a modern day Ramiro Mendoza, and like Mendoza, the Yankees may let him walk after the season and let some other team pay for his decline.

Shreve’s Fight To Stay On The Roster

Warren is locked into a bullpen spot. There’s no doubt about that. Chasen Shreve’s place on the roster is much more tenuous. He’s gone up-and-down between Scranton and the Bronx the last two years — he’s been more up than down, for what it’s worth — but this season, he won’t be a shuttle option. Shreve is out of minor league options and he’ll have to go through waivers to go to Triple-A. I don’t see it happening. At least not before Opening Day.

Shreve is the last guy in the bullpen and, all things considered, he’s a more than fine candidate for the job. He threw 45.1 innings with a 3.77 ERA (4.55 FIP) last season, striking out 29.3% of batters faced. Shreve has been equally effective against both righties and lefties in his career (.316 wOBA for both), and last season he went more than one inning 14 times. He threw two full innings (or more) eight times. What more do you want from the last guy in the bullpen?

There are two things that prevent Shreve from being a high-leverage piece. One, he walks too many batters. He had a 12.8% walk rate last year and for his career it’s an 11.5% walk rate. And two, Shreve is homer prone. Last season he posted a 1.6 HR/9 and his career rate is … 1.6 HR/9. Yankee Stadium and the juiced ball have not been kind to Shreve. Shreve was pretty great in the first half of the 2015 season. Since then, walks and dingers have held him back.

Similar to Warren and his slider, Shreve really ratcheted up his splitter usage last season. He’s always thrown a lot of splitters, that is his go-to pitch, but last year he threw more splitters than ever. Look:

I imagine that will continue this season. Shreve is at the point where he has to perform — and continue to perform, he won’t be able to ride a good start all season — to stay on the roster, because getting shuttled back to Scranton for a few weeks isn’t an option. He’s left-handed, he strikes guys out, he doesn’t have a platoon split, and he’s cheap. Shreve is prime waiver claim fodder, so the Yankees will probably try to keep him around as long as possible.

At the same time, the Yankees have several other bullpen candidates (Luis Cessa, Gio Gallegos, Domingo German, Ben Heller, Jonathan Holder, etc.) and they’re probably not going to get hesitate to give them a look if Shreve isn’t doing a capable job as the last guy in the bullpen. I don’t think Aaron Boone will use Shreve as a pure left-on-left matchup guy. I think he’d stick with the setup guys in any big spot. Shreve will be a mop-up guy, basically, but even then he’ll have to perform. This is a make or break year, at least as far as his time with the Yankees is concerned.

2018 Salary Arbitration Filing Day Updates

January 12, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Three arbitration-eligible Yankees. (Presswire)

Updated 1/12 at 6:07pm ET

Today is an important day on the offseason calendar. Today is the deadline for teams and their arbitration-eligible players to file salary figures. The player files what he feels he should be paid in 2018 while the team files what they feel he should be paid in 2018. Pretty simple, right?

The Yankees have eight arbitration-eligible players on the roster — they started the offseason with nine before jettisoning (and later re-signing) Erik Kratz — and among those eight are some very important core players. Here are the team’s arbitration-eligible players and MLBTR’s projected 2018 salaries:

Player	MLBTR	Actual	Diff	Status
Didi Gregorius	$9.0M	$8.25M	-$0.75M	Third Trip – Super 2
Sonny Gray	$6.6M	$6.5M	-$0.1M	Second Trip
Dellin Betances	$4.4M	$5.1M	+$0.7M	Second Trip
Adam Warren	$3.1M	$3.315M	+$0.215M	Third Trip
Aaron Hicks	$2.9M	$2.85M	-$0.05M	Second Trip
Tommy Kahnle	$1.3M	$1.3125M	+$0.0125M	First Trip
Austin Romine	$1.2M	$1.1M	-$0.1M	Second Trip
Chasen Shreve	$0.9M	$0.825M	-$0.075M	First Trip – Super 2
Totals	$29.4M	$29.2525M	-$0.1475M

Most arbitration-eligible players around the league will agree to a new contract today. Last year the Yankees had seven arbitration-eligible players and six signed before the filing deadline. Betances was the only exception. He and the Yankees wound up going to an arbitration hearing, the team’s first since 2008.

It’s important to note that even if the two sides do not agree to a contract today, they can still work out a contract of any size after filing salary figures. This isn’t a hard deadline that ends negotiations. That said, these days most teams take a “file and trial” approach, meaning once the two sides file salary figures, the team cuts off negotiations and they go to a hearing. That’s their way of putting pressure on the player to sign.

The Yankees are trying to get under the $197M luxury tax threshold this season, so every dollar spent on an arbitration-eligible player is a dollar they can not spend elsewhere. There is $29.4M in projected salaries above. That’s a lot. I wonder if the Yankees will take a very hard line approach during contract talks? Sign now for these terms, or we’ll go to a hearing and beat you like we beat Betances last year. That sorta thing. We’ll see.

We’re going to keep track of the day’s Yankees-related arbitration news right here, assuming nothing crazy like a long-term extension happens. I’d bet against it. That would screw up the luxury tax plan. The filing deadline is 1pm ET, though news is going to trickle through the afternoon, so keep checking back for updates.

Update (12:00pm ET): The Yankees and Kahnle have a one-year deal at $1.3125M, reports Jon Heyman. That’s a tick above the MLBTR projection. Kahnle earned $535,000 last season and was arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason. He can’t become a free agent until the 2020-21 offseason.

Update (12:00pm ET): Jerry Crasnick reports the Yankees and Hicks have an agreement at $2.825M. That is slightly below the MLBTR projection. Hicks can become a free agent after the 2019 season. He made $1.35M last year.

Update (1:52pm ET): Robert Murray reports that the Yankees and Warren have an agreement at $3.315M. That’s $215K more than the MLBTR projection. They’re now roughly $180K above MLBTR’s projections.

Update (4:44pm ET): The Yankees and Betances have agreed to a $5.1M salary for this coming season, reports Mark Feinsand. That’s quite a bit above his MLBTR projection. Good for Dellin. At least he won’t have to deal with any arbitration hearing drama this year.

Update (5:32pm ET): Jon Heyman has three updates. First is Gray, who will earn $6.5M in 2018 — $100K lower than his MLBTR projection. Second is Gregorius at $8.25M, a whopping $750K below projection. Third is Romine at $1.1M, $100K below projection.

All in all this leaves the Yankees nearly dead even with projections. The difference is currently less than $100K (in the team’s favor, for those interested).

Update (6:07pm ET): Shreve and the Yankees agreed to an $825K deal for next season, reports Ronald Blum. That’s slightly below the MLBTR projections. All told, the Yankees will pay their arbitration-eligible players $29.2525M in 2018. MLBTR projected $29.4M total.

Free agent prices and luxury tax plan give the Yankees several trade chip relievers

December 19, 2017 by Mike Leave a Comment

To date, the 2017-18 offseason has been dominated by free agent relievers and the luxury tax threshold. More relievers have signed Major League contracts (20) than all other positions combined (16), and both the Yankees and Dodgers have made moves to get under the $197M luxury tax threshold. So have the Giants to a lesser degree. They unloaded Matt Moore over the weekend.

The Yankees haven’t dipped their toe into the free agent reliever pool because there’s no need. They have Aroldis Chapman and David Robertson for the late innings, Chad Green as a multi-inning setup guy, Tommy Kahnle and Adam Warren in the middle innings, and Dellin Betances as a high-end reclamation project. That’s six of the seven bullpen spots, with plenty of young arms (Domingo German, Ben Heller, Jonathan Holder, etc.) for the final spot.

That doesn’t mean the free agent bullpen market doesn’t effect the Yankees. Free agent relievers are getting paid pretty well this winter, which I’m sure you noticed. It wasn’t long ago that statheads (like me) were saying you shouldn’t pay big for relievers because they’re so volatile, and while that volatility still exists, teams are no longer shy about paying relievers well. Starters are throwing fewer innings each year, making bullpens that much more important.

Here are some sample free agent reliever contracts handed out this offseason:

Bryan Shaw, Rockies: Three years at $9M per season.
Tommy Hunter, Phillies: Two years at $9M per season.
Juan Nicasio, Mariners: Two years at $8.5M per season.
Anthony Swarzak, Mets: Two years at $7M per season.

Could you imagine paying Swarzak $7M annually? Good gravy. I know he was great this past season — he had a 2.33 ERA (2.74 FIP) in 77.1 innings for the White Sox and Brewers — but he’s already 32 and he had a 4.70 ERA (4.26 FIP) in 130.1 innings from 2014-16, which sent him searching for work in Korea. One good year and bam, Swarzak signed for $14M total. What a world.

There are still several quality free agent relievers on the market — neither Wade Davis nor Greg Holland has signed, plus others like Seung-Hwan Oh, Matt Albers, Tony Watson, and Addison Reed are available — but most of the mid-range guys like Shaw and Hunter and Nicasio and Swarzak have already put pen to paper. Those guys have cashed in big and that’s awesome. Good for them. At least some MLBPA members are getting paid this winter.

The free agent reliever market could benefit the Yankees by making their bullpen pieces more attractive in trades. Would you rather give, say, Albers or Oh multiple years at $7M a pop, or trade something for Warren and his $3.1M projected salary, or Betances and his $4.4M projected salary? I suppose the Yankees shouldn’t rule out trading Robertson and his $13M salary either. How good will Robertson at $13M look when Davis gets Chapman money ($17M per season)?

There would be two goals here. One, add talent to the organization via trades. I know Betances had his walk problems this year, but given his track record and potential for excellence, would it be wrong to ask for an upper level arm and a lower level lottery ticket in a trade, plus maybe more? What about Warren? Could the Yankees get a Justin Wilson package for him, meaning two upper level arms they could plug into MLB roster as soon as 2018?

Secondly, trading a reliever would allow the Yankees to subtract payroll and get further under the $197M luxury tax threshold. Replacing Warren or Betances (or Robertson?) with a league minimum reliever like German or Heller or Holder would make it easier to upgrade the infield. It also might make the bullpen less effective, of course. The Yankees had such a hard time replacing Warren two years ago they had to trade to get Warren back, remember.

Brian Cashman and his staff are known to explore basically everything, and I’m sure they’re at least open to the idea of trading a reliever to help get under the luxury tax threshold. It doesn’t have to be now. It could happen in late-January or February, after all the viable free agent relievers are off the board and there are still plenty of teams looking for bullpen help. The Yankees would be in position to demand a lot in the trade. It’s simple supply and demand.

The Yankees are built around their offense and their bullpen. They’re going to hit a ton of dingers (dingers!) and score a lot of runs, and they’ll hand leads over to their deep bullpen. That’s the formula. And subtracting from the bullpen hurts the formula, which leads me to believe a reliever trade won’t happen unless the Yankees get an offer that’s just too good to pass up. Trading a reliever is an idea worth considering though, especially with the luxury tax plan in place and limited funds for another starter and infield help.

The Other Core Relievers [2017 Season Review]

December 4, 2017 by Domenic Lanza Leave a Comment

Adam Warren

It may be an exaggeration to say that Adam Warren’s inclusion in the Aroldis Chapman deal was as exciting to Yankees fans as the hype around centerpiece Gleyber Torres a year and a half ago, but he was regarded as far more than a throw-in. Our own Mike Axisa was “stoked” to have him back, for example, and for good reason – Warren was a borderline stud reliever before being dealt to Chicago. To wit, he pitched to the following line out of the Yankees bullpen: 183 IP, 8.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 45.3 GB%, 3.05 ERA, 130 ERA+, 3.40 FIP. Warren was not that pitcher for the Cubs, but there was hope that a return to his old stomping grounds would cure whatever ailed him.

And it did – 30.1 IP and a 133 ERA+ later, and Warren was right back in the mix to be the Yankees fireman.

Warren entered the 2017 season in a fireman-esque role, and he did not disappoint. Six of his first seven outings saw him picking up four or more outs, and six of those seven games were also within three runs when he entered. And, in true fireman fashion, he entered games in the 4th, 5th, 6th (3 times), 7th, and 8th in those outings. Those seven appearances comprised the first month of the season, over which he tossed 13.1 IP of 0.68 ERA ball, with 13 strikeouts against 3 walks.

May was a different story, though. Warren blew three leads in twelve appearances, and generally struggled to put batters away. He was also shifted into a more defined role, settling in as the ‘7th inning guy;’ that coincided with Chad Green becoming an absolute monster in multi-inning stints, and Joe Girardi went with the hot hand in the fireman position. And so the bullpen deployment became a bit more rigid.

Warren settled down after Memorial Day, and the Yankees bullpen was firing on all cylinders. Unfortunately, Warren hit the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation on June 16, and would spend the next three weeks on the sidelines. He came back strong, though, returning on July 4 and reeling off a month and a half of awesomeness. Warren made 16 appearances from that date through August 16, pitching to the following line: 19.2 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 19 K, 0.92 ERA.

The wheels fell off at that point, though, and he hit the DL with a balky back on September 6. There were rumblings that he’d miss the rest of the season, but he returned to throw a scoreless inning in the Yankees final game. He finished the season with a 2.35 ERA (193 ERA+), 8.5 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9 in 57.1 IP, and looked strong in the playoffs, to boot – Warren shutout the Astros in two appearances (3.1 IP) in the ALCS.

Chasen Shreve

Calling Shreve a “core” reliever sounds strange, but that’s basically what he was in 2017. Granted, he was essentially the mop-up man – but he held onto that role for the vast majority of the season. Shreve made 44 appearances in 2017, and he entered 25 of those games with a lead or deficit of three or more runs; and ten of those appearances came with the Yankees leading by four or more runs, so he may be best described as their victory cigar.

Shreve, like Warren, was counted on to pitch more than one inning, and was rarely used in the prototypical LOOGY role. He was only called upon seven times to get out a tough lefty, and he was actually successful in six of opportunities. Despite Girardi’s justified misgivings about using him in tough spots, Shreve was quite good against lefties in 2017, holding them to a .161/.235/.262 slash line in 68 showdowns. Compare that to a .225/.338/.491 line against righties, and one can’t help but wonder if there’s a lefty specialist to be found.

As was the case in his first two seasons in pinstripes, Shreve had no trouble racking up whiffs. He struck out 11.5 batters per nine, and his 14.4% swinging strike rate was well above league-average. On the flip side of that, however, were his continued struggles with the long ball (1.6 HR/9 compounded by a lowly 37.4% groundball rate) and control (5.0 BB/9). He’s basically a three true outcomes pitcher, and that’s not someone that can be relied upon all that often.

That being said, those weaknesses did largely evaporate against same-handed batters. Shreve struck out 38.2% of lefties, walked just 8.8%, and allowed just one home run to the aforementioned 68 lefties that he faced. Those are excellent numbers, and he was fairly consistent against lefties throughout the year. That may not mean that he has shaken off the horror show that was 2016, when he allowed lefties to post a .437 wOBA – but I would be interested to see him get another shot at the role, as the Yankees perpetual search for a LOOGY wages on.

2018 Outlook

Warren seems a lock to return to the sixth/seventh inning role, barring a trade of Dellin Betances, Tommy Kahnle, or Aroldis Chapman. Well, that, or if Green actually ends up starting (which I don’t see happening). And the Yankees should be confident in his ability to fill any role, given that Warren has never disappointed in pinstripes.

As for Shreve, I’m not quite sure. The Yankees are loaded with potential relievers, and Shreve was an odd man out at the end of the regular season. A new coaching staff may be interested to see if he could be the lefty specialist, and I think he deserves that opportunity; but his ability to throw multiple innings and get out lefties may keep him in a more mop-up oriented role. And I don’t know how safe his spot on the roster is, either.