Pointless Yankees roster move shows there was never really a plan for 2026 bullpen

On Monday night when the New York Yankees optioned Jake Bird to Triple-A, it showed a willingness from the team to fix the most broken aspect of their roster: the bullpen. Though fans didn't learn the corresponding move until 14 hours later, it still suggested the next guy up was going to get some run.

Turns out ... that wasn't the case at all. Yerry De Los Santos, who got the call Monday afternoon, received two innings of work in a lopsided 7-1 loss before being optioned right back to Triple-A. And get this, Aaron Boone still used one of his better high-leverage arms in Brent Headrick down six runs!

De Los Santos being shipped back to Scranton simply emphasizes the Yankees have no bullpen plan, and whatever plan they had envisioned for 2026 went up in flames when Cade Winquest wasn't who they thought he was.

And we guess we can say the same for Bird, Angel Chivilli (who could get the call next), Camilo Doval and Ryan Yarbrough (whose usage has been extremely confusing thus far). Whatever move comes next, it'll be even more underwhelming than De Los Santos, and it'll merely be more filler in a bullpen that's ... mostly filler.

Welcome to the Brian Cashman disaster class of 2026. We'll be happy to apologize if there's a long-term vision we aren't seeing at the moment, but we're just not sure the Yankees front office even sees one.

What's next for the Yankees' bullpen after Yerry De Los Santos option?

Fans understand De Los Santos wasn't expected to do anything other than erase innings in wasteful outings (like Tuesday night) to preserve the more valuable arms, but what was the point of doing this for just one game? Theoretically, the Yankees have a rested bullpen after using De Los Santos for two innings, Paul Blackburn for one, and Headrick for another.

What difference is Chivilli or Kervin Castro going to make at this point? De Los Santos admittedly was not great in his 2026 debut, but the last guy in the bullpen isn't supposed to be (nor was he expected to be with the Yankees down 6-0 at the time). And the fact of the matter is that the Yankees have about three "last guys" in the bullpen if you count the empty spot at the moment, Blackburn, and whoever else emerges as the underperformer of the week.

The Yankees went from paying Aroldis Chapman and Zack Britton ridiculous sums of money to neglecting the bullpen altogether and relying on a group of reclamation projects to guide them through a 162-game season. They went from one end of the spectrum to the other, and neither have proven effective, whether it's whatever is happening right now or Chapman and Britton blowing big postseason moment over and over again.

Cashman and the front office will need another overhaul of a trade deadline for this bullpen to save this team, and givne the cost of relief help every single year we wouldn't be banking on that happening when the time comes. The Yankees have what they have, and it appears they've miscalculated greatly.

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