Yankees might've sent Luke Weaver into free agency with Sonny Gray-style tension

The winter rages on, and so far the New York Yankees have watched several bullpen options come off the board without making any meaningful additions, unless you count Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest  — a guy who has never pitched above Double-A.

The bullpen was a problem last season, and with Devin Williams in Queens and Luke Weaver nearing the same exact deal, it projects to be worse next year. Maybe the Mets think they can bring him back to being the dominant force he was over the first two months of 2025 (1.05 ERA in 25.2 innings), before he was sidelined with a left hamstring strain.

According to Yankees Insider Bryan Hoch, the Yankees - who were reportedly not in the bidding process for Weaver - might've washed their hands of the possibility late last season. Hoch dished some interesting info on Weaver's ending in the Bronx during a Reddit AMA this week.

Yankees insider Bryan Hoch lays out why Luke Weaver's 2025 season went off the rails.

Weaver is one of the biggest success stories in recent Yankee history. When New York claimed him off waivers in September of 2023, it became the third team he'd pitch for that year, and the sixth team of his career.

At the time, Weaver was a journeyman starter, and as a starter, he owns a career 5.05 ERA. It was in 2024 that the Yankees decided to turn him into a reliever. That looked like a genius move, as Weaver posted a sparkling 2.89 ERA in 84 innings of work, and supplanted Clay Holmes as the closer in the playoffs.

It was an incredible turnaround for a journeyman who looked to be on his last legs in the bigs. However, whatever adjustments the Yankees were able to unlock Weaver with didn't work as well when they tried to correct some pitch-tipping at the end of 2025. Weaver reportedly grew frustrated by the next wave the club forced upon him to correct an issue down the stretch in 2025.

This isn't the first time the Yankees' tinkering hasn't been well-received, though the most prominent complainant, Sonny Gray, had grievances about a bygone regime, and the most recent source of whining has come from crybaby-in-chief and new Mets closer Devin Williams. Not exactly the most reliable witnesses.

Weaver's case sounds different, though, as Hoch notes that the adjustments the Yankees wanted him to make had him thinking through too many "checkpoints" rather than just delivering the pitch. It's understandable how that could cause more harm than good.

The second part of this is Weaver's desire to follow in Clay Holmes' footsteps and get another opportunity to make it as a starting pitcher. The bullpen-to-rotation conversion has become something of the hot new trend around the league, and it makes sense that relievers would want to take advantage of the higher rates paid to starters in free agency. Of course, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic on Tuesday, Weaver has yet to find a partner in that pursuit. Who knows how the Mets see him?

The Yankees could use another starter, but can't roll with an unproven option like Weaver. And with that, it seems, the curtain has fallen on the Luke Weaver era in the Bronx. It was one that brought some thrilling moments, an incredible career turnaround, and unfortunately ended in frustration. Weave Dog did everything the right way, though, but struggled to adjust manically on the fly last fall. No matter how this ends, you have to wish him the best.