Yankees reportedly eyeing nightmare reunion nobody would support for bullpen

Some reunions bring about fond memories of good times past, while others (like with exes) unearth everything you tried to bury from a painful past. The New York Yankees are reportedly eyeing a homecoming that resembles the latter scenario. Per Jon Heyman, the Yankees are one of many teams chasing Jonathan Loaisiga in free agency.

Before you call 911 to get paramedics on their way to the Bronx to tend to the traumatic head injury Brian Cashman must have suffered to even consider this, realize that there's actually some merit to this idea.

Long the subject of non-tender rumors during his mostly injury-plagued and ineffective tenure in the Bronx, Loaisiga was astonishingly good in 2026 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 32-year-old made 67 appearances and threw 67 innings, posting a 2.42 ERA that was mostly the byproduct of a career-best 5% walk rate and a strong 56.4% ground ball rate.

Loaisiga didn't strike out many batters, logging just 6.45 K/9, but he had his trademark sinker working and kept the ball in the yard with a razor-thin 0.40 HR/9.

It was a huge departure from 2025, when Loaisiga's 4.25 ERA didn't fully tell the story of how bad he truly was. The righty allowed an eye-watering 2.12 HR/9 during his final season in pinstripes, quickly throwing gasoline on any fire that he was brought in to put out. Of course, he was limited to just 30 appearances and 29 2/3 innings after suffering a season-ending flexor strain.

Relievers are way too volatile for the Yankees to truly consider a reunion with Jonathan Loaisiga

Part of the reason we endured the misery Loaisiga brought our way for so long was the fact that he put together an outstanding 2021 season, posting a 2.17 ERA over 70 2/3 innings as a 26-year-old. Cashman and the Yankees chased that initial high with him every year since, before finally cutting ties last offseason, never coming close to the thrill that supposed breakout campaign brought.

Right there is the whole lesson. Relievers are volatile, especially the kind of middle-relief arms who come and go from the spotlight every season. It's one thing if you have an elite, established closer or setup man who has a down year, but it's another thing when it's a guy who usually handles the fifth and sixth innings. Small sample sizes and luck are often what drive those false ascensions, and after riding the initial wave, these types of pitchers almost always come back to earth.

For similar reasons, the New York should be skeptical of a Paul Blackburn return and opt for a more proven option unless his market unexpectedly falls apart. Loiasiga is not that proven option, though. With the Braves giving the injury-plagued Evan Phillips $35 million, the market is heating up regardless of whether a reliever has a checkered injury past.

Bottom line, the Yankees need to leave well enough alone. Someone else can bet on Loaisiga to continue his dominance year-over-year. We've seen that movie before, and we know all about its unsatisfying ending.

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