Yankees: Aaron Boone needs to find roles for these three relievers

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The Yankees stacked bullpen should force Aaron Boone to get a bit more organized.

With a full week of baseball in the books, the New York Yankees checked in at 7-1, good for the best mark in Major League Baseball. The blowout loss against the Washington Nationals seems like an eternity ago and we’ve been able to see the Bombers in full force — the offense, defense, starting rotation, bullpen, bench, etc.

The offense is rolling. The defense is good (sans whatever the team decides to do with Miguel Andujar and the gaffes in center field on Sunday night). The rotation has its problems, but they should get sorted out. The bench is deep. But let’s talk about the bullpen.

Yes, it’s a dominant unit for sure. However, manager Aaron Boone has confused some of us with his usage of some arms. That’s led many fans to question the roles of some of the guys in the ‘pen. We already know what Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino and Chad Green are asked to do each week.

But what about these guys? Time for Boonie to give them a more definitive role so there isn’t any confusion and they can continue to develop.

Nick Nelson #79 of the New York Yankees Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

3. Nick Nelson

The Yankees got a burst of life from Nick Nelson on Saturday night.

Alright, we won’t rush Boonie on this one, but it’s important that this is figured out sooner than later. Nick Nelson made his MLB debut on Saturday against the Boston Red Sox and absolutely carved them up. He logged three scoreless innings and walked just two batters while striking out four to earn his first win in the bigs. On Wednesday, he was hung out to dry, and a few low-exit-velo hits and failed double play balls wound up demoting him to the Alternate Site.

Nelson showed off his filth in more ways than one this past weekend, though, and clearly has the ability to help this team moving forward. Though the Yankees acted quickly this week and removed Nelson from the equation, we don’t want him in no man’s land like a few of the other guys we’re about to touch upon.

The 24-year-old has gone through the Yankees farm system as a starter, maintaining a 3.65 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in 76 games (74 starts). After his debut, it’s clear he may be better suited in a relief role given how overpowering his fastball is when coupled with a devastating breaking ball.

Whatever happens, he shouldn’t be bouncing around between long and short outings. He’s got the length to be a starter, so perhaps he’s the guy Boone brings in after one of our starters get shellacked early or has to leave the game early for whatever reason.

He belongs on the roster, plain and simple.

Michael King #73 of the New York Yankees( Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

2. Michael King

Yankees fans definitely like Michael King, but what is his role?

We got to see Michael King make his MLB debut in 2019 against the Texas Rangers, and he’s been back this year in a middle relief capacity. However, it hasn’t exactly gone great. While he did manage to keep the game within reach on Sunday night (3.2 innings pitched, 2ER, 2H, 4K), his outing against the Nationals when relieving James Paxton (again) was worse.

In that 9-2 loss, King surrendered four earned runs on four hits in 3.1 innings. That’s six earned runs (three homers) in seven innings of work. The numbers look bad, but his stuff does look good. He’s not erratic. He can pound the zone. He’s got good movement.

Maybe he should get a spot start here and there? It seems like he could serve as a good opener if we needed it. Maybe he comes in a la our Nelson suggestion but doesn’t go longer than two innings. King is still getting acclimated to life in the majors, but the Yankees have pitching depth for days, so it’d helpful if they can put him on a more clear path since his relief outings that have gone beyond three innings haven’t turned out so great.

Jonathan Loaisiga #43 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

1. Jonathan Loaisiga

Johnny Lasagna is absolutely nasty and he needs to be a late reliever for the Yankees.

Jonathan Loaisiga very much has big-league stuff, but he’s yet to carve out a definitive role on the Yankees pitching staff despite making his debut back in 2018. He’s not a starter, which is fairly obvious to the team and the fans, but he throws gas, so why not have him come in during late-game situations when the primary guys like Green and Ottavino need a night off?

There are plenty of innings to go around, and the stats show Lasagna is better from the sixth inning on. His fastball-changeup-curveball combo is effective, especially since he brings it with his heater (which averages nearly 97 MPH). Mix that in with an 89 MPH changeup and 84 MPH curve and now we’re cooking. He’s a three-pitch guy, which is better suited for a short relief role anyway.

The evidence shows (especially in the small sample size this year) he’s less effective when he goes beyond one inning. He sat down five of the first six Nationals he faced before giving up a homer. He managed to wipe out eight Orioles before hitting a batter and allowing a two-run homer.

Keep it short and sweet with Johnny Lasagna and we’ll have another dominant one- (maybe two-) inning reliever to own the opposition.

dark. Next. Where is Aroldis Chapman?

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