The misconception surrounding Yankees after Ryan Weathers acquisition

There's a certain belief that the New York Yankees move to grab Ryan Weathers from the Miami Marlins was all in service of setting up the club to make an even bigger trade. While that could certainly wind up being the case, it's not a guarantee.

To play devil's advocate to that argument, we really don't know how the Yankees envision using Weathers in 2026. What we do know is that he has some pretty enticing stuff that they're hoping to unlock, but the manner in which they plan to do that and what his eventual role will be is to be determined.

Ryan Weathers might not be the catalyst to a bigger Yankees trade as questions about his role swirl

For one, there's a non-zero possibility that New York made this move with the idea of converting Weathers to a reliever full-time. The 26-year-old has thrown 31 of his 281 career innings coming out of the bullpen. 25 1/3 of those relief innings came during his rookie season in 2021, and he posted a 2.49 ERA in that time versus a 6.36 mark as a starter.

The southpaw's stamina as it pertains to holding up over the grind of a 162-game season is also a question. For his career, Weathers has notoriously faded in the second half, pitching to a 7.27 ERA after the All-Star break, while owning a 3.95 performance in the first half.

Speaking of durability, the former first-round pick has struggled with injuries throughout his career. Last season was a prime example as he missed the beginning of the season with a forearm strain. After just five starts, he'd hit the IL again with a lat injury. Maladies like these are part of the reason why he's never logged 95 innings or more in a single season.

Perhaps a move to the bullpen can alleviate those concerns and keep him on the mound. At the same time, his stuff, which includes a high-90s fastball, could play up even further if he can just let loose for an inning or so at a time.

For the Yankees, the potential of unlocking Weathers in the bullpen also makes a lot of sense. He has the talent to become a high-leverage reliever if he puts it all together. Given that Brian Cashman has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to finding upgrades to a bullpen that finished 23rd in baseball with a 4.37 ERA (and lost both Devin Williams and Luke Weaver), this risky move all of a sudden looks like it must come to fruition. Tim Hill is the only lefty guaranteed a spot in the bullpen, and it would be nice to have a second southpaw for Aaron Boone to call on.

That's not all, however. The Yankees could view Weathers as a potential rotation piece, at least while Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón are healing. After losing three-fifths of their projected Opening Day rotation during spring training last year, they could also simply be looking to him to provide some insurance.

On that note, Weathers still has an option remaining. There's a chance that, barring a red-hot spring training, they plan to stash him in Scranton in order to rebuild him, and only call upon him in case of emergency.

The Yankees paid a high price for Weathers' services, so it's understandable to believe that investment is part of a larger plan. However, that's also what the cost of doing business has been for starters with years of control remaining, and there are a multitude of reasons as to why they believed he was a worthwhile addition. We'll learn soon what the true plan is, but for now there are many paths the Yankees could take.