Yankees demote 2 bullpen options in latest roster cuts (but you'll hear from them again)

The New York Yankees' bullpen will look different midseason — or, at least, it had better look different, given the high degree of current uncertainty and all the talent lurking below. On Wednesday morning, the Yankees reassigned two additional bullpen hopefuls to minor-league camp in Harrison Cohen and Carson Coleman. If both continue in the direction they've recently headed, though, they'll both remain options for midseason promotions and will help in the forthcoming makeover.

In recent seasons, the Yankees' bullpen has struggled to create upper-echelon velocity. That won't be quite so glaring this year, as long as Camilo Doval returns to form, Carlos Lagrange eventually joins the fray, and Ryan Weathers/Luis Gil is able to take a midsummer sojourn to the middle innings.

Coleman and Cohen won't be terribly helpful in that quest — and Coleman, in particular, has struggled to become a force as he's battled health demons. But both men have posted outstanding whiff totals in the upper minors, and both should be considered for elevation if they're able to get right and stay right this summer.

Yankees demote Carson Coleman, Harrison Cohen as bullpen remains in flux

Coleman was returned to the Yankees after the Rangers swiped him in the Rule 5 Draft and he turned up injured and surgically repaired. He threw 17 brilliant innings last season, but still hangs his hat on whiffing 69 men in 44 Double-A innings in 2022. No one in the bullpen picture needs a full season to get on the map more than he does.

Cohen's work was mostly done with Team Israel in this spring's WBC, but back with the Yankees, he built on last season's 1.76 ERA split between Somerset and Scranton with a pair of shutout frames. He's been closer to the 40-man puzzle than Coleman in recent years, but that could change with a return to full strength.

Both have, currently, been usurped by a steady hand and a flash out of nowhere. Kervin Castro, an unheralded pickup this offseason, might just rise from the back of the 40-man roster to an MLB bullpen spot before too long. When team officials are asked about their surprise risers, they always ask fans to keep an eye on him. They're doing it for a reason.

And while the time might not be now for 100 MPH-hurling mystery man Yovanny Cruz, he's made himself impossible to deny by pinpointing pitches that had previously pierced holes in screens.

Cohen and Coleman might not be sitting in the center of attention, but neither should be too far off the bullpen map. Both will be considered this summer if they can remain healthy in the high minors.