Yankees: How should the club use reliever Tommy Kahnle?

After being traded to the Yankees last July, Tommy Kahnle has seen his fair share of ups and down. So how should the team use him to take advantage of his lights-out potential?

When the Yankees traded for relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle, most fans did not know what to expect from the former Rule-5 draft pick. He ended up proving to be one of the most effective pieces of the Yankee bullpen during their magical 2017 Postseason run.

However, after a rocky 2018 campaign, Kahnle has left fans asking: What changed, and what can the club do to get him back on track?

Kahnle, 29, was demoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 6 after a very rough start to the season. He seemed to have lost his control and ended up spending over a month on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis.

After posting an impressive 2.59 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 2017, Kahnle failed to live up to his numbers from a year ago, recording a 5.63 ERA with 20 total strikeouts across 16.0 innings. However, since being recalled to the big league club, his velocity has stayed up, and he has significantly improved his location on his breaking pitches.

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Recently, Yankees manager Aaron Boone has been using Kahnle in increasingly important situations for him to gain his confidence back.

Over his past five outings, Boone has used Kahnle in the seventh inning or later, four times and has often asked for no more than two outs. The key for Kahnle is to develop back into a pitcher that is confident in his stuff and believes he can get anybody out in any situation.

Last year, Kahnle pitched with a little extra fire and energy that allowed him to attack hitters and not be scared to challenge them with his best fastball. In order for him to regain that fire and no-fear mentality, Kahnle must perform in the situations he is given and not only restore his confidence but the confidence of Boone, as well.

Giving Kahnle more opportunities in the later innings may sound like a risky move (especially in the midst of a playoff race), but if it pays off, he could become another option in an already dominate Yankees bullpen.

With playoff baseball becoming more of a strategic game of bullpenning by committee, the addition of a confident Kahnle could prove to be one of the most valuable pieces in a short playoff series.