Yankees could've just lost their last chance at bullpen upgrade after Guardians' move

So far, we still have Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, and Bo Bichette headlining the available big bats in free agency. All of the tier one free-agent starting pitchers, sans Dylan Cease, are still hanging out looking for new homes.

Through that lens, the New York Yankees haven't missed out on much due to their winter hibernation. However, with their back end duo of Luke Weaver and Devin "Low Leverage" Williams now residing in Queens, and a plethora of actually appealing bullpen options already off the board, things are starting to look bleak regarding the club's chances to improve its 23rd-ranked bullpen.

And with the Cleveland Guardians agreeing to terms with Shawn Armstrong on a one-year, $5.5 million pact with a mutual option for 2027, the Yankees might have seen the door slam shut on their last chance to bring in a potential bullpen upgrade in free agency.

Shawn Armstrong signing a reasonable deal with the Guardians leaves the Yankees in the cold

Let's be honest, Armstrong has a great last name for a reliever, but he's not some world beater. Still, the 35-year-old right-hander signed an incredibly affordable deal. That's only $500K more than the Yankees gave Jonathan Loaisiga last December, and Armstrong has been both more durable and more effective.

Armstrong's coming off a year in which he posted a 2.31 ERA in 74 innings of work. In 2023, he recorded an even more stellar 1.38 mark over 52 innings. Even years have been less kind, with Armstrong posting ERAs of 4.38 (2022) and 4.86 (2024).

That kind of volatility is par for the course for all but the most elite relievers in the game. And to his credit, Armstrong consistently strikes out about a batter per inning while keeping his walks and homers manageable. You could do a lot worse than those baseline skills.

And now, the Yankees will likely do just that, and sign a much worse reliever to fill out their bullpen. The remaining options just aren't that appealing.

The only player who is safely better than Armstrong is his former teammate Pete Fairbanks, but Fairbanks likely will want to go somewhere where he can close, and it's unlikely the Yankees would view him as a superior ninth-inning option to David Bednar.

David Robertson could be brought in for a third stint in the Bronx, but at 41 years old, how much he has left in the tank is a real question.

And with that, the consequences of the Yankees' sleepwalking through the offseason should be readily apparent. Their Achilles heel in 2025 is set to plague them again in 2026, but it didn't need to be this way.