Late updates have Yankees, Red Sox bullpens in similar state of decay before Wild Card Series 

With two of the top bullpens in all of baseball, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are about as evenly matched at the backend of ball games as you could get. Well, at least on paper. Over the last several weeks, each team's pitching staff has seen an array of injuries and regression that could prove to be the difference in a Wild Card Series that may be quite chaotic.  

As we officially hit the middle of spooky season, it is actually a little eerie how similar of a bullpen situation that the Yankees and Red Sox are each dealing with. While not complete disasters, fans won’t be seeing either team roll out a full-strength pen for their highly-anticipated rematch from last year’s postseason.  

Now that Fernando Cruz has been transferred on the 60-day IL, the Yankees have officially lost an important piece to their bullpen for their postseason run. Cruz was one of the team’s best arms of the pen in the first half of the season before a tough stretch of poor outings and a partial UCL tear unceremoniously ended his 2026 season.  

In addition to losing Cruz, the Yankees will likely not have the option of Clarke Schmidt coming out of the bullpen in the playoffs, either. Schmidt was once again placed on the IL after making just one appearance following his return from Tommy John surgery. He was slated to be an interesting middle-relief option for Yankees manager Aaron Boone.   

But if you look to the other side of the matchup, the Red Sox aren’t exactly thriving in the health department either. On September 27, the team placed Tyron Guerrero on the IL with a shoulder strain. Much like Cruz, the 35-year-old was enjoying a very strong season until a shaky month of August derailed his success, and his latest injury update cut his postseason dreams short. 

The Red Sox will also be without reliever Justin Slaten for the postseason. While the RHP had somehow allowed an appalling 10.1 hits per nine rate throughout the 2026 season, he still possessed the dominant stuff that helped him rack up strikeouts during his recent breakout. But after right elbow inflammation sidelined him in mid-August, he likely won’t pitch again this year. 

While each team still boasts high-level talent in the bullpen, it could be a nightmare for each manager to make it all work. 

This postseason will really test the bullpen depth for the Yankees and Red Sox

Following the regression and injury to Cruz, the Yankees have relied on a three-headed monster for the majority of the second half. David Bednar has been lights out all season and Paul Blackburn has really come into his own as an elite bullpen arm. However, Brent Headrick saw some worrying regression of his own as the season went on. 

As first noted by Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, Headrick’s average fastball velocity has been steadily decreasing in the second half of the season, but his heater took an ever more noticeable dip during his September 20 appearance against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Headrick’s fastball averaged just 92.9 mph, more than a full mph down from his season average.      

At 78 1/3 innings pitched this season, Headrick hasn't approached these heights since he was a starter, tossing 108 1/3 innings in the minors with the Twins in 2022 and 100 2/3 between the minors and majors in '23. Whether his drop in fastball velocity is from the normal fatigue of a long season or from entering unchartered territory in bullpen usage has yet to be determined. Either way, his reduced effectiveness could be costly for the Yankees. 

Not to be outdone, the Red Sox could also be bitten by the regression bug in the Wild Card Series. While Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman remain a lethal duo for Boston, LHP Erik Miller is currently enduring his worst month of the entire season. He's allowed six earned runs in just 7.1 innings pitched in September. While he did strike out nine batters, he paired that with nine walks. Not exactly an ideal combination.  

Somewhere in between the good and the bad of each bullpen, a few under-the-radar pitchers could step up and become complete game-changers in the series. Red Sox starter Tanner Houck threw his first game in over a year against the Chicago Cubs on September 27. It may be asking a lot from a pitcher returning from Tommy John surgery, but he could be utilized out of the 'pen for an inning or two if the team adds him to the postseason roster. Garrett Crochet also seems likely to be a bullpen option after sitting on the shelf nearly all season.   

For the Yankees, Ryan Weathers could offer a dynamic arm to match up against lefties such as Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu. Weathers hasn’t pitched since August 22, but his recent bullpen session showed a lot of promise, with the southpaw hitting 96 mph on the gun. After enjoying his best season as a pro, Weathers could look to continue that success in the postseason.

No matter how each team's bullpen will look in the Wild Card Series, you can bet that will certainly be a generous helping of drama and a dreadful amount of horror for one fanbase.  

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