The Yankees have officially botched whatever their Cade Winquest plan was

The New York Yankees' "run it back" strategy was more sound than most people gave it credit for. Though no one will fully buy in until they "prove it in October," the lineup was one of the game's best last year, setting the scoring bar high. The rotation, as Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón work their way back, is the deepest Yankees group in quite a long time. The bullpen? That's the spot where the criticism was most valid.

Brian Cashman clearly considered the 2025 trade deadline to have been his primary point of construction, and the 2026 bullpen is based on the idea that, actually, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird would be much more reliable in Year 2. So far, both have had their flashes. Both have also created hot flashes. The only real newcomers to the bullpen year-over-year were Rule 5 draftee Cade Winquest and Rockies trade wild card Angel Chivilli.

Chivilli didn't make the team out of camp. Not even close. Winquest? Despite unimpressive metrics and performance, he had to make the roster, lest he be offered back to the Cardinals free of charge. And so the Yankees entered the season with a shaky Winquest and two long relievers, Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough, taking up space in the bullpen, with Luis Gil getting rotation reps down at Triple-A.

How would Winquest be deployed? We guessed, logically, that it would probably take a blowout to get him into his MLB debut. With the Yankees up 7-0 in the ninth on Opening Day, Aaron Boone pivoted away from him, going to Doval to close the game in his former home of San Francisco. Since then? Winquest hasn't had a lane. The best-laid plans of mice and men and Boones so often go awry. 5-0 in Seattle didn't feel right. The Yankees' other "blowouts" have become close games, as the actual members of the bullpen trust tree have seen their effectiveness chipped away by repeated use (yes, it's literally April 6).

When it makes some sense to use Winquest, he doesn't get used. When it makes no sense to use Winquest, aka the seventh inning of a tight game, the Yankees only have a smattering of other relievers who are worth considering because Winquest is taking up a roster spot that could belong to someone more valuable.

Down 7-4 and batting in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday evening, Winquest finally had the moment that every little boy dreams of: trekking to a wet MLB bullpen mound as the winds swelled in front of a mostly-departed post-rain crowd and throwing some warmup tosses.

Yankees' Cade Winquest plan has a ticking clock that's getting even louder

If you're keeping score at home, Winquest now has only three potential games left to get into, a three-game set against the Sacramento A's. As announced over the weekend, Luis Gil will return to start Friday's game at Tropicana Field, and optionable relievers Bird (despite Sunday's implosion) and Brent Headrick (arguably the Yankees' best reliever?) likely can't be sacrificed.

That would mean either Winquest exits the organization or Paul Blackburn/Ryan Yarbrough does (or the team does) something unconscionable to buy them more time to watch someone they can't figure out how to get a look at. Either way you slice it, it's become a roster waste, and the bullpen remains unsolved and frozen.