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

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.