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Yankees: 3 NYY who need to step up without Zack Britton

Adam Weinrib|
TAMPA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 26: Zack Britton #53 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch during the spring training game against the Washington Nationals at Steinbrenner Field on February 26, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 26: Zack Britton #53 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch during the spring training game against the Washington Nationals at Steinbrenner Field on February 26, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
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Yankees
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 25: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Jonathan Loaisiga #43 of the New York Yankees in action against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium on September 25, 2020 in New York City. The Marlins defeated the Yankees 4-3 in ten innings and clinched a playoff spot. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

1. Jonathan Loaisiga

Yes, this brings us to the eternally captivating Jonathan Loaisiga, who usually attains that title for all the wrong reasons.

Durability aside, how is this guy possibly not a dominant late-inning Swiss Army Knife yet?Employing a fastball, sinker, curve and change, Lo has always been stretched back and forth, from starter to reliever to late-and-close, go-get-em arm. It’s never entirely clicked.

In 2020, Loaisiga posted a 3.52 ERA and 123 ERA+, his first above-average full-season marks in three tries. When it came time for high-leverage postseason outings, however, the righty couldn’t hack it in either the Wild Card Series in Cleveland (which he nearly blew before DJ LeMahieu saved him) and the ALDS in San Diego.

Loaisiga’s stuff plays all the way up in the bullpen, but there’s a cavernous hole that must be crossed between “effective sixth innings” and end-of-game steadiness. With Britton out, it’s possible Loaisiga has the best pitch mix of anyone who isn’t in the upper echelon of the trust tree.

He’ll have three months or so to prove he belongs.

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