Yankees: 4 ways Aaron Boone can vary bullpen usage in postseason

This postseason will be unlike any other, so the Yankees need to be prepared.

Thanks to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, the New York Yankees (and yes, other teams too) will have to drastically change their ways in the 2020 postseason because there will be zero (0) days off in the ALDS and ALCS (obviously the same with the NLDS and NLCS).

So what does that mean? If Gerrit Cole pitches Game 1 of the ALDS (he probably will), he’ll have to pitch on short rest in a hypothetical Game 5. But perhaps more importantly, manager Aaron Boone won’t get to use his best bullpen arms on any given night. The playoffs now profile as the regular season with the lack of breaks.

The rotation will be the rotation. Boone is going to have an order starting with Cole and Masahiro Tanaka, and then he’ll play it by ear, but those guys will pitch on their usual days or even on short rest. No-brainer.

But the bullpen? Well, Boone’s going to have to get creative and perhaps act in an unconventional manner at times. Never have we seen the stakes so high with such limitations in place, and if we’re being honest, Boone’s bullpen management in 2020 hasn’t been great.

Here are four ways he can get creative and help maximize the efficiency of every reliever.

4. More high-stakes innings for Jonathan Loaisiga

Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga has earned more worthwhile innings.

This hinges on Jonathan Loaisiga getting some more worthwhile innings before the season ends. But even if he doesn’t, you could make the argument he’d be effective in tight situations for one inning in a few postseason games. The Yankees are going to need another one of those guys, too, because Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton and Chad Green won’t be available every night with the new postseason schedule.

Sadly, Loaisiga is a man without a role. He’s been used as an opener/spot starter, middle reliever tasked with multi-inning duty after a starter falters, or a late-inning arm when guys need rest. They need to stop toying around and give the right-hander a definitive job. He should be pitching more one-inning outings in higher-leverage situations.

He possesses the kind of stuff you want from a one-inning guy. His fastball averages 97 MPH and has good movement. Throw in a curve and changeup and that’s a good enough mix to get the job done.

Though he had a bad showing against the Blue Jays on Monday night, he came in for innings three and four after Michael King had gotten in a world of trouble. Give him a clean slate in the sixth or seventh and we bet he’ll get the job done in the postseason.

2. It’s OK to send in Chad Green as the closer when needed

If the back end of the bullpen is overworked, Chad Green can close.

At the beginning of the 2020 season, Chad Green was by far the Yankees’ best reliever, getting even more action than usual in more meaningful spots with Aroldis Chapman on the COVID-19 IL and Tommy Kahnle having to undergo Tommy John surgery by the end of the year’s first series.

And man, did he look good. He gave up just one run on two hits and four walks with 15 strikeouts in 12.2 innings of work. But then … he didn’t pitch for 10 days, and we still don’t have an explanation as to why.

When did Boone bring him back in for his first appearance since Aug. 16? Why, it was Aug. 26 against the Atlanta Braves with the Yankees holding onto a one-run lead in the sixth inning (of a seven-inning game). After sitting down the first two batters, Green allowed a single and then Freddie Freeman took him deep. Yankees lose.

Then came his disastrous outing against the Mets where he gave up three solo bombs. Then came that shared disaster with Ottavino in Buffalo that almost derailed the entire season. It’s been a tale of two seasons for Green, but when he has a role and isn’t getting large chunks of off days for no reason, he can be one of the best relievers on the pitching staff.

Keep throwing him in high-leverage situations. Keep using him in the later innings. Prepare him to close a game or two, because Chapman and Britton won’t be able to do it every single night if we’re playing this many games back to back. Green can do it. He just has to be in the right place.

That’s on Boone to manage him correctly between now and the ALDS, if they can get there.

1. Deploy Aroldis Chapman with no regard

Aroldis Chapman doesn’t only have to be the closer for the Yankees.

Andrew Miller wasn’t the Indians’ closer during Cleveland’s World Series run in 2016, but he was easily their best reliever. On this team, realistically, at their absolute best, Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Chad Green and Adam Ottavino can handle the ninth inning. So why do we need stringent bullpen roles throughout the entirety of the lengthy postseason?

We need a semblance of that, but there shouldn’t be “rules” as to when you’re bringing someone in.

Chapman probably isn’t the Yankees’ best reliever, but he’s certainly the most overpowering, and if the middle of the order is coming up in a one-run game in the eighth inning, why not use him to take down the big guns before turning to Britton? We’re not saying Britton isn’t capable, but having a guy who throws over 100 MPH is a cool weapon to use against the game’s best hitters in crunch time.

Heck, maybe you use him in the seventh if you’re in a jam with runners on and trying to hold onto a lead! I don’t know! But every late lead needs to be treated like a do-or-die situation, because the Yankees cannot afford to have massive momentum shifts go against them in this uncertain 2020.

Deploy Chapman when we need to stop the bleeding and/or show up the opposing team’s best hitters in late and tight situations, even if it’s not the ninth inning. Everything else will unfold the way it needs to once you escape the immediate threat of giving up a lead or having the tie broken.

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