1 overlooked relief option could be minor-league savior for Yankees' bullpen

When it comes to internal options to fix the New York Yankees bullpen, the club is in a weird spot. Rafael Montero was signed to be a veteran presence at Scranton who could be called upon if needed, but after a strange delay to his season due to visa issues, he's settled in and struggled with a 5.03 ERA through his first 20 appearances.

The answer everyone would like to see get an elongated run in the MLB pen is Yovanny Cruz, but the Yankees have shown us that they don't trust him despite the fact that he's given them no reason to be skeptical. Whatever, they feel how they feel, and it's not likely to change.

New York's top relief prospects down in Scranton, Harrison Cohen and Eric Reyzelman, haven't shown out the way the club has needed them to. Cohen struggled to the tune of a 9.00 ERA in Triple-A, leading to his demotion to Somerset. Reyzelman began the year in Somerset and performed well, but then hit a wall with an 11.70 ERA over his first 10 innings in Scranton.

That means the depth cupboard is pretty bare, but there's one name that stands out who could be an option. You might not have heard of Bradley Hanner, but if the Yankees need to reach down again for another reliever, the 27-year-old might be their only hope.

Yankees' bullpen stats are a mirage, but Bradley Hanner stands out as a possible solution

And they're running out of time. Hanner says he will opt out of his contract on Wednesday if he doesn't get promoted to the MLB roster.

Coming into the break, the Yankees' bullpen leads the league in ERA with a 3.04 mark. It might seem weird to say that they need to be looking for solutions then. But digging deeper shows things aren't quite as rosy.

New York relievers rank fourth in FIP (3.68), ninth in xFIP (4.01), ninth in SIERA (3.73), 16th in strikeout rate (22.3%), and sixth in walk rate (8.5%). SIERA and xFIP are the strong indicators of future performance, and they both point to this being a good-but-not-great unit. Particularly, arms that can get outs via the swing-and-miss are lacking.

To be fair, the bullpen has improved, but it is an uneven unit. Camilo Doval is a disaster, and Jake Bird is mediocrity personified. Tim Hill is running out of gas. Brent Headrick has been stellar, but continues to lead the league in appearances, amping up the risk of burnout.

So that brings us back to Hanner. He's thrown 40 2/3 innings over 32 appearances. In that time, he's posted a 1.99 ERA while striking out 30.5% of the batters he's faced, along with a decent 9.8% walk rate and a .208 batting average against.

Hanner made his way to the Yankees by signing a minor league free agent deal after spending the last few seasons in the Cleveland Guardians' farm system, though he posted a 4.74 ERA that was driven mostly by an abysmal 2.37 HR/9. This year, he's suppressed homers dramatically, coming in at a minuscule 0.23 HR/9. Neither is sustainable, so that's worth noting.

Chances of Hanner being a long-term solution for the Yankees are slim, and, given that Carlos Lagrange won't be walking through the door to save the day, the team will need to add at least one more reliever at the deadline. In the few weeks we have remaining between now and then, it would behoove the Yankees to give him a shot. They probably won't, but they should know that Doval and Bird aren't answers. They don't know if Hanner can be.

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