Michael Fulmer signing has quickly turned into unsavory Yankees experience we all expected

The New York Yankees took a chance on Michael Fulmer by signing him to a major league contract on Aug. 26 to join their bullpen. But Fulmer had only made six appearances in the big leagues since the start of last season and did not pitch in 2024, making the addition a risk (even though the Yankees badly needed the help for their pitching staff).

Initially, Fulmer impressed with 1 1/3 scoreless innings across his first two appearances. However, the right-hander has allowed four runs (two earned) in his last three appearances and looked really shaky in his previous outing against the San Diego Padres.

On Saturday, the Yankees had a 5-1 lead and brought Fulmer in during the sixth inning. The righty struggled with his command, walking two batters on 20 pitches while recording just two outs. As a result, a visibly frustrated Aaron Boone pulled Fulmer for lefty Brent Headrick.

While the Yankees have a reputation for fixing relief pitchers, this type of performance was to be expected after they brought in Fulmer. The 33 year old hasn't pitched in a full season in the majors since 2023, during which he had a 4.42 ERA in 58 appearances with the Chicago Cubs. He missed all of the 2024 season after undergoing UCL revision surgery.

The Yankees, who have World Series aspirations, cannot count on a pitcher that they picked up off the scrapheap to give them big innings in relief down the stretch of the season. In addition to Fulmer, the Yankees also added right-hander John Schreiber off waivers from the Kansas City Royals. But Schreiber is a bit of a different situation. He came with a 3.65 ERA in 55 appearances this season and right-handed batters are hitting an anemic .135 off of him.

Yankees injuries have bullpen in precarious position with Michael Fulmer

New York is in a heated pennant race and recently lost high-leverage arm Fernando Cruz to a partially torn UCL. Cruz is first going to try the conservative route and could begin throwing in the next few days, per Boone. He could still require Tommy John surgery at some point (which is the more likely outcome).

Injuries to the pitching staff have opened the door for the Yankees to bring in names such as Fulmer and Schreiber to help them in the stretch run. But once the postseason rolls around, a number of starters should be moved to the bullpen once they come back from the IL, including Ryan Weathers and Clarke Schmidt. Will Warren should also factor into the postseason bullpen, and already pitched as a piggyback arm for Max Fried on Friday night. The Yankees recently called up 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil to serve as a hard-throwing reliever in the bullpen as well.

The solutions are there, but the bullpen is far from a finished product. Fulmer will more than likely serve as a means to an end rather than emerge as a high-leverage option for October.

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