Yankees prospect's rare ranking could hint at a secret plan for the bullpen

The lone external addition to the New York Yankees' bullpen this offseason has been Cade Winquest, a Rule 5 pick, who turns 26 on April 30 and has logged only 42.1 career innings above Hi-A (all of which came in Double-A last season). Does that sound like the antidote to the Yankees' bullpen woes?

New York's bullpen ranked 23rd in ERA with a 4.37 mark in 2025. The club has lost both Devin Williams and Luke Weaver, and while admittedly both were more of a problem than a solution last season, each hurler had at least some track record of dominance. In to replace them are Winquest and the reliever version of Paul Blackburn. The Yankees liked what they saw out of Blackburn in the bullpen, but he did post a 6.57 ERA over 24.2 innings working in relief last season. Undeniably poor numbers.

Understandably, fans are dismayed. Coming into the offseason, one would have thought that shoring up the bridge to David Bednar would've been a top priority. Instead, it seems as if New York is planning on internal improvements - like stability from Camilo Doval and Jake Bird actually being useful - as well as another step forward from Fernando Cruz in order to lock down the high-leverage innings.

Maybe there's more than meets the eye. The Yankees' farm system isn't the best, but one thing they have a lot of is talented arms. While most project to be starters, maybe there's a master plan here that involves one of their very best young hurlers: Carlos Lagrange.

Top Yankees prospect Carlos Lagrange could be a dominant reliever in 2026, thanks to this ranking

Baseball America ranked all pitchers in their updated top 100 by Stuff+, and put Lagrange at No. 1. By a mile. The 22-year-old's 121 mark was four points ahead of the next closest prospect, Brody Hopkins, and blew away top-ranked New York Mets arm Nolan McLean (114).

Lagrange is a towering and intimidating presence on the mound, coming in at six-foot-seven and 248 pounds, but until recently, he's been more projection than production. Injuries and load management had limited the righty to just 95.2 innings in total from 2022 through 2024. However, in 2025, he arrived by cracking MLB Pipeline's top 100, reaching Double-A Somerset, and logging 120 innings once you factor in his early-season run at Hi-A Hudson Valley.

It's amazing to think that Lagrange was an afterthought, signing for just $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2022. Now, he runs his fastball up to 102 miles per hour, has a deadly changeup, and throws a wipeout slider, all of which fueled a 33.4% combined strikeout rate last season.

There's an Achilles heel with Lagrange, however, and it is the dreaded base on balls. A 12.3% combined walk rate (and an even worse 14.9% rate in Double-A), combined with the injury and durability concerns, threaten to derail the young starter.

However, we don't need to look too far into the Yankees' past to see the blueprint for Lagrange. From 2014 through 2018, no reliever threw more innings than former Yankee Dellin Betances (373.1). The six-foot-eight righty also ranked second in reliever fWAR (11.2) and eighth in ERA (2.22).

Like Lagrange, Betances was originally a starter who struggled with control, letting walks get the better of him. Even as a big leaguer, he finished his career with an 11.9% walk rate. However, he paired a high-octane fastball with a wicked breaking ball to become one of the most dominant relievers in the sport.

The similarities between him and Lagrange are striking, and there's an argument to be made that Lagrange could be even better. He already throws harder than Betances did, and if converted to relief, should be able to dial up even more velocity. His outstanding changeup gives him a third weapon that Betances didn't have, and could be a lefty neutralizer.

Starters are typically seen as more valuable commodities than relievers, but bullpen arms that produce what Betances did at his peak far outweigh the contributions of a middle-of-the-rotation arm.

For Lagrange to work out as a starter, he probably needs another year-plus of minor league seasoning. Even then, his future might be in the pen. However, if the Yankees needed to, they could likely let him loose in the big league bullpen this season.

If that were to happen, there's a chance that he could become a deadly weapon and elevate the unit from one with many questions to a dominant force. It might not happen on Opening Day, but it shouldn't surprise you to see the Yankees reach down and promote the young flamethrower if things don't go according to plan early on in 2026. Maybe the lack of legitimate relief additions has been a part of this plan all along.