Yankees have two no-brainer club options and must make the right decisions

It's option season, and while much of the attention will be on Cody Bellinger and what happens when he opts out, the New York Yankees have two other option candidates they need to address. With these two, the ball is in the Yankees' court, as the club holds club options.

The decisions seem simple, but given recent history with both players, it's not a slam dunk that Brian Cashman makes the right call. What he decides to do here will go a long way toward shaping the 2026 bullpen, which is a unit in dire need of a makeover.

The Yankees hold club options on relievers Tim Hill and Jonathan Loaisiga, and must make the right decisions

The Yankees bullpen finished the year ranked 23rd in the majors in ERA at a 4.37 mark. That mark is bad enough, but the unit was an issue going into the trade deadline, and after "fixing it," it got worse. From August 1 through the end of the regular season, Yankees relievers posted a 4.74 ERA, which was 26th in baseball, and for a six-and-a-half week stretch between August 1 and September 16, they were far and away the worst group in baseball, posting a 5.71 mark.

Therefore, any arm from that group that can reasonably be jettisoned should be, right? Not quite.

The Yankees hold a $3 million club option on lefty sidewinder Tim Hill, and picking it up should be a no-brainer. The Yankees signed Hill in June of 2024 after the veteran was DFA'd by the Chicago White Sox and watched him put up a pristine 2.05 ERA over 35 games and 44 innings pitched.

They wisely brought him in again last offseason on a one-year deal worth $2.5 million with a $3 million club option for 2026, though they dragged their feet in the process, not agreeing to terms until February 8.

Meanwhile, the other reliever the club must decide on is right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga. For some reason, Cashman moved relatively quickly last winter to re-sign Loaisiga, who, entering 2025, had pitched just 19.2 innings over the previous two seasons thanks to a variety of ailments.

The oft-injured native of Nicaragua didn't make his season debut until May 15, then wasshut down with an elbow flexor strain after making his final appearance of the season on August 1.

In the roughly two-and-a-half months he was able to take the mound, Loaisiga posted a 4.25 ERA, which might not seem terrible. It was. The 30-year-old tormented Yankees fans by coughing up leads and pouring gas on the fire. Loaisiga allowed a ghastly 2.25 HR/9 and posted a 5.83 FIP, proving his performance was much worse than his mediocre ERA indicated.

Hill is obviously tough on lefties, but also does just enough against righties to be useful. Letting him walk, especially for such a paltry sum, would be criminal.

Loaisiga's brand of incendiary baseball should not be allowed to continue in the Bronx, but for some reason, Cashman can't seem to quit him after his lone good year in 2022. The five million spent on him last year would have been better off being burnt in a field, and picking up his option would mean spending another $5 million for him to both miss time and implode in 2026.

The choices should be clear. Now, the Yankees just have to make them.