Yankees Midseason Report Card: Bullpen

As the New York Yankees reach the midpoint of the 2016 season, Yanks Go Yard is taking a look at how each player on the roster has performed in the first half. Here are the midseason grades for the team’s relievers.

Despite some issues in the middle innings, the Yankees relief corps has been one of the primary strengths of the 2016 club. No Runs DMC may not have been the most popular gimmick with Yankees fans, but the late inning trio has certainly been effective in shortening the team’s games to six innings.

The future of this unit is very much up in the air, however, as several contenders have already expressed interest in adding Yankees relievers at the trade deadline. If one or more arms are dealt next month, than the team will be forced to rely heavily on the members of the “Scranton Shuttle,” a group of young pitchers who haven’t found much success this season.

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First up, Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman

Since returning from a 30 game domestic violence suspension on May 9th, Aroldis Chapman has been everything the Yankees could have hoped for when they acquired him this winter. He has struck out 33 in 22 innings of work this season, or 37.9% of the batters he’s faced. Even more impressively, he has walked just four in his 24 appearances.

He’s been worth almost a full win by himself in his limited time with the club by fWAR (0.9). Adding him to the Yankees already dominant duo of late inning relievers has transformed the team’s pen into a historically good unit.

Coming into Tuesday, Yankees relievers lead the major leagues in strikeouts per nine innings with 11.14 K/9, and place in the top three by walks per nine (2.32 BB/9), FIP (3.58), fWAR (4.2). They also pace all MLB clubs with a 3.12 xFIP.

While his on field performance probably warrants an A grade, the fact that he missed so much time and the controversy he generated has to knock him down a notch. Many fans still would rather see Chapman shipped out of town as soon as possible rather than have to deal with the ambivalence of having to cheer for an alleged domestic abuser.

Midseason Grade: B

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Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller has been a top-five reliever in baseball by almost any measure in the first half of 2016. Among qualified MLB relievers he ranks second in strikeouts per nine (16.20), fourth in walks per nine (1.23), fourth in fWAR (1.4), and first in xFIP (1.01) coming into Tuesday’s action. His otherworldly 13.2 K/BB ratio is the best in baseball.

By all accounts a great teammate and all around terrific guy, Miller defused any controversy by surrendering his ninth inning role gracefully and without complaint when Aroldis Chapman returned from his suspension. He has seemed unaffected by the trade rumors that have surrounded him since this winter, taking them in stride and acknowledging that it is part of being a professional ball player.

Either as a trade chip or a potential building block, Andrew Miller is one of the most valuable commodities the club has at the moment. His $9 million salary looks like a complete bargain at this point, and at just 31 years old he comes with two more seasons of team control.

Sadly, despite the Yankees recent assurances to Miller that he’s not on the trading block, it seems like a strong possibility that this may be his last month in pinstripes. While teams were not willing to meet the Yankees reportedly high asking price over the winter, the Giants, Nationals, Cubs, Dodgers, and Rangers have all recently been connected to Miller, and it looks like he will be one of the most discussed names at the deadline.

Midseason Grade: A+

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Dellin Betances

Despite being the low-man on the late inning totem pole, a strong case can be made that Dellin Betances has been not only the Yankees best reliever this season, but the best reliever in the major leagues. He just edges out Miller for the league lead with an amazing 16.24 strikeouts per nine innings and has been the most valuable reliever in baseball by fWAR with 2.1 wins above replacement.

Betances’s sparkling 1.17 FIP also leads MLB relievers, demonstrating that his success is no fluke. At 28, he somehow keeps getting better. He is no pampered, rarely used closer either. He has appeared in more than half of his team’s games in the first half (41 appearances in their first 81 games).

While manager Joe Girardi does not use Betances for multi-inning stints as often as he has in the past, there is no doubt that the 6’8 265 lb tank of a man is capable of it in crucial situations. The presence of Miller and Chapman has just made that less of a frequent necessity.

Things could be very different for Betances in the second half if one or both of his No-Runs-DMC crew is dealt at the deadline. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him take over the closer role by August. The question would then become who the Yankees have to get the ball to him in the late innings.

Midseason Grade: A+

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The Rest…

Aside from the Big Three, the rest of the Yankees bullpen has been an absolute mess this season. No other reliever has made it through the 2016 season on the big league roster without a demotion to the minors.

Seven Yankees relief pitchers have an ERA over 5.00 this season, including Kirby Yates, Chasen Shreve, Johnny Barbato, Anthony Swarzak, Phil Coke, Tyler Olson, and Branden Pinder. In 2015, New York effectively used the last spot in their bullpen to rotate in fresh arms from Triple-A Scranton. This year, four of their seven bullpen spots have been in a constant state of flux.

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On the plus side, young arms Luis Cessa and Chad Green, both acquired from the Tigers for lefty reliever Justin Wilson this winter, have looked solid in limited time. However, Green may be needed in the rotation sooner than later, and Cessa is also a starter by trade.

Aside from the Chapman trade, the Yankees declined to add any veteran relievers to their pen this winter, instead opting to count on their collection of minor league arms. That has looked like a major blunder in the early going this year, with none of the Scranton Shuttle arms establishing themselves as a major league caliber reliever in the first half.

Next: Yankees Midseason Report Card: Starting Rotation

The good news is the Yankees have plenty of other interesting options with Triple-A Scranton they have yet to try out. Look for Giovanny Gallegos, Mark Montgomery, Tyler Webb, and Dietrich Enns to make their MLB debuts at some point in the second half.

Midseason Grade: D-