Yankees make another bullpen roster move and get closer to addressing problem

Sick of seeing Yerry De Los Santos and Jake Bird getting recalled and the Yankees' bullpen getting nowhere closer to a solution for the remainder of 2026? Well, look no further! New York made a roster move on Tuesday that suggests they might be willing to get ahead.

After optioning De Los Santos back to Triple-A following the loss to the Tigers, the Yankees recalled right-hander Yovanny Cruz, who came up on May 20 and pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings against the Blue Jays. He was promptly optioned despite fans wanting to see more of him.

Now, he'll return to the Bronx in the midst of a solid June. He's logged a 4.15 ERA so far this month, which isn't the greatest. The bright side, though? He's struck out 11 batters in 8 2/3 innings. Additionally, he hasn't allowed an extra-base hit as opponents own a .561 OPS against him over that span.

Cruz adds velocity and swing and miss to a bullpen that needs it badly, and his presence could help alleviate Brian Cashman's lift at the trade deadline. If Cruz can get a longer audition than 2 1/3 innings this time, perhaps he can prove he's a quality bullpen piece.

Or, you know, he could get optioned right back once David Bednar returns from the paternity list. Our money will be on that as the Yankees attempt to prioritize Jake Bird once more.

Yovanny Cruz needs to remain in Yankees' bullpen for the next few weeks

The reality is that the Yankees will not be able to afford trading for multiple high-leverage bullpen arms at the deadline. A number of other aggressive contenders are looking for the same asset, which means the competition will be high and the prices will be even higher. That's why we've been leaning into the Tarik Skubal rumors a bit more.

And as the Yankees learned last year, bullpen acquisitions are fungible assets. Bednar was a great get, but Bird and Camilo Doval have been terrible. Unless you're paying top dollar for a proven commodity, it's a massive risk. And even then, relievers are the most volatile players on the field. Overall, they're not worth the cost.

Cruz has nothing left to prove in Sctanton. He might struggle a bit with walks, but he doesn't allow home runs and limits contact altogether. Most impressively, he's only surrendered nine extra-base hits all year. How is this not the exact profile the active roster needs at the moment as we watch Bird and Doval get pummeled, coupled with the largely underwhelming offerings from Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough?

Cruz isn't the "missing piece", but he could save the Yankees from unnecessarily parting with a package of prospects, much like they did last year with Doval and Bird as well as this offseason when they traded for Angel Chivilli.

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