Yankees provide key update on rehabbing bullpen piece

Aaron Boone provided the update that the Yankees should have Scott Effross facing live hitters next, which is a huge update for the right-hander. In his 13 appearances with New York, he struck out 12 batters with four walks, posting just a 2.13 ERA over that small sample size and looking like a legitimate high-leverage option for the Bronx Bombers before tearing his UCL.

Since then he has missed time rehabbing from that tear, but back surgery in December sidelined him for even longer as he would have to build back up. If the team can get a healthy Scott Effross, they could be adding a key piece back to their bullpen, especially in high-leverage situations. It should be noted that the long layoff means we’ll need to see Effross in rehab games before he can return.

With the Yankees currently having an elite team ERA (2.92), any help they can get makes them that much better, but the bullpen has a distinct quirk that they would like to mend. Their starters are second in strikeout rate (24.7%) but their relievers are 23rd (21.5%), which has created some questions about how sustainable their success can be going forward, and the idea is that their incoming reinforcements such as Tommy Kahnle can fix that issue.