Aaron Boone confirms 2 flamethrowing relievers will be on Yankees' Opening Day roster

The New York Yankees, like many teams out there, are trying to figure out which players will have the privilege of making up the back half of the team's bullpen. This will be an important question to answer correctly, as the Yankees' success last year coincided with their bullpen play.

All-Star Clay Holmes is the most potent member of a group that still figures to be right in the mix with the best units in the American League. If one criticism can be levied against it, it's the fact that the depth in certain areas can be lacking.

Amid a swarm of top prospects all trying to prove that they are worthy of one of the Opening Day roster slots, a veteran holdover in Albert Abreu and a battle-scarred newcomer in Jimmy Cordero are hoping their triple-digit heat can help them earn spots with the Yankees. According to Aaron Boone, both of them have succeeded in that quest.

Boone confirmed that both Abreu and Cordero will be on the Opening Day roster. While Cordero has not had much success at the big league level and Abreu is coming off a nasty blown save against the Twins, Boone sees something in both of them that helped them win this competition.

Albert Abreu and Jimmy Cordero made the New York Yankees' Opening Day roster.

Abreu's numbers look great in a vacuum. After being reacquired by the Yankees in the Jose Trevino deal, Abreu posted a 3.26 ERA and 125 ERA+. His issues stemmed from the fact that he struggled in both high-leverage situations and mop-up duty.

While batters had an insane OPS+ of -1 against Abreu in medium leverage situations, batters hit .260 with foru homers against him in low leverage at-bats. In the few high-leverage reps he got, Abreu struggled, as batters went 4-9 against him. He has a fastball, but is the secondary stuff there yet?

Cordero's stats look average, as he posted a 4.55 ERA and 99 ERA+ with the White Sox, Nationals, and Blue Jays. He also hasn't pitched in the majors since 2020. What he does have going for him is his stuff, as he throws a hard sinker that induces week contact and a sharp, biting slider. That must have been enough to woo Boone.

The Yankees have finally parted ways with Aroldis Chapman, turning the bullpen over to Holmes, Michael King, and Ron Marinaccio. While Abreu and Cordero played well enough to make the roster, they should be aware of the fact they could be among the first to be demoted to Scranton with poor play.