Diving Into The Early Dominance Of The Yankees’ Bullpen

Despite Sunday’s disappointing 7-6 loss to the Miami Marlins, the New York Yankees still have many positives from the first two weeks of 2026. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is how dominant their pitching, specifically their starting pitching, has been despite missing Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon. But this also means that the early successes of their bullpen, which was arguably the team’s biggest weakness last season, have flown under the radar.

Diving Into the Early Dominance of the Yankees’ Bullpen

With Rule-5 draft pick Cade Winquest as the only new addition to New York’s bullpen, the expectation was that “running it back” was going to backfire spectacularly. However, it appears that this bullpen is not only exceeding expectations (at least so far) but also has much more variety and depth than last year’s relievers.

New Season, Same Old Pitchers

On paper, the Yankees’ bullpen looks almost identical to that of last year’s roster. Other than the aforementioned addition of Winquest, every single pitcher on New York’s roster appeared in pinstripes last season. However, it’s important to account for the fact that not every pitcher started last year with the Yankees. David Bednar, Jake Bird, Camilo Doval, and Paul Blackburn all started 2025 on different teams, ending up with the Yankees later on in the season. 

Bednar was arguably the only one who was able to adjust to his new team right away, as he tossed 24 ⅓ innings with a 2.19 ERA, adding on 10 saves after arriving in the Bronx at the trade deadline. Bird, who struggled right off the bat, wasn’t even on the Major League roster long enough to pitch in his first game at Yankee Stadium. Doval and Blackburn both struggled through to the end of the year, posting ERAs of 4.82 and 5.28 after coming to the Yankees, respectively. Though all four are off to rocky starts in 2026, their acclimation to the Bronx has been a big part of how the Yankees’ new and improved pen has come together.

Old Reliable

Conversely, the Yankees have had surprising contributions from players whose expectations were perhaps not as high as those of the newcomers. Left-hander Brent Headrick hasn’t allowed a run in 5 innings (6 appearances), and neither has fellow southpaw Tim Hill (in 4 ⅔ innings). Right-hander Fernando Cruz is also continuing to dominate after a breakout season last year that saw him record 72 strikeouts over 48 innings with an ERA of 3.56.

As long as New York’s “old reliable” continues to be reliable, this team’s bullpen should be miles better than the fiasco that warmed up in right-center field last season. Especially once Bednar, Doval, and Bird can perform as they have in the past few seasons, the biggest weakness on New York’s roster should be much less of a weakness.

Management

Of course, it also comes down to how this bullpen is managed. Once the Yankees get all of their starting pitchers back, manager Aaron Boone is going to have to figure out how to juggle having multiple starters pitch out of the ‘pen. This could be advantageous, especially towards the end of the season, when having fresh arms is even more important, but first, the Yankees need to ensure they’ll still be playing when the weather once again turns cold.