Another successful Carlos Lagrange bullpen appearance brings Yankees' plan into focus

New York Yankees right-hander Carlos Lagrange is right around the corner from making his MLB debut. Many fans wanted the flamethrowing phenom to make the Yankees' Opening Day roster this season, especially after his dominant spring training.

But Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake and the rest of New York's leadership felt that it was important to keep Lagrange a starter (in Triple-A) for as long as possible in 2026, until it became obvious that his presence in the bullpen was needed. The Yankees view Lagrange as a starter moving forward, but the plan all along this season has been to get him those necessary starter reps in Triple-A before ultimately transitioning him to a (temporary) bullpen role at the highest level. And, well, that plan is moving along nicely in its pre-MLB stages.

Carlos Lagrange has now made two successful bullpen appearances in Triple-A

With a dominant relief appearance from June 3 in his pocket, Lagrange followed that up with another successful appearance on June 10, this time entering the game for Scranton in the seventh inning. This was his first "true" relief appearance, as the first outing saw him enter in the second inning.

Carlos Lagrange appears to be consciously working on his off-speed stuff

We all know that Lagrange can throw absolute gas, and he could definitely get away with a diet of mostly fastballs and still own most Triple-A hitters. But that hasn't been Lagrange's approach in the minors, at least not recently. Wednesday night's appearance saw Lagrange mixing in a ton of off-speed stuff (including 22 sliders), which is an indication that he's honing his arsenal beyond the heater.

The absolute ideal outcome for Lagrange's 2026 MLB season would be that he helps the Yankees' bullpen (and even genuinely becomes a trustworthy postseason arm), but in a way that prepares him for life as a starter. Successfully leveraging his off-speed stuff could be the main variable driving Lagrange's best-case scenario this season.

The more realistic outcome for Lagrange is that he will end up relying heavily on his otherworldly fastball to be a slightly inconsistent (but electric) relief option for the Yanks. At worst, he might factor into the equation with Camilo Doval-type reliability (you never know what you're going to get), but in Jacob Misiorowski form. At the end of the day, that's still a pitcher you want on your MLB staff, especially if your bullpen, as constructed, is highly flawed already.

The main thing to keep in mind for Yankees fans watching Lagrange will be that he's still 23 years old. There will be some immediate bumps in the road, and not every outing will be automatic, but that doesn't mean he can't help this team reach its goal.

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