Yankees’ fatal flaw is becoming irreparable as slow offseason wears on

Thus far, any chatter surrounding the sizable ambitions of the New York Yankees has been smoke without fire. 

The MLB Winter Meetings have come and gone with absolutely no improvements made. The Yankees managed to keep Trent Grisham, Ryan Yarbrough, Tim Hill and Amed Rosario. Aside from this, New York has been motionless.

Despite their uninspiring start to the winter, there are still plenty of opportunities to explore. However, no matter who they acquire, it may be too late to salvage one of their greatest weaknesses of 2025. 

The Yankee bullpen is quickly becoming a grave concern 

The Yankees had the eighth-worst bullpen ERA last season, sitting at 4.37, a number that jumped to 6.15 in the playoffs. Five of their relievers are currently on the free-agent market, while two others have already found new homes. The loss of Devin Williams notwithstanding, it shouldn’t be too much of a blow should the Yankees watch the rest of their free agent bullpen arms follow suit, as they did very little for the team last season. However, what will affect the team is their failure to seek out suitable replacements.

The top relievers on the once-packed free agent market — Edwin Diaz, Robert Suarez, Raisel Iglesias, Ryan Helsley, Kenley Jansen, Tyler Rogers and Williams — have already been signed. The market for free agent relievers, which was plentiful before the winter meetings, is beginning to dwindle with very few quality options left. This leaves the Yankees with several empty spaces to fill and limited options to fill them with.

Time is not the Yankees’ friend, and the longer they wait, the more their options will shrink. The top relievers still on the market are Pete Fairbanks and Shawn Armstrong, both of whom were exceptional last season. Danny Coulombe, Seranthony Dominguez and Jakob Junis remain solid secondary options. On the trade market, the only star-caliber reliever who has been floated in negotiations is San Diego Padres’ closer Mason Miller, who would be an excellent grab, but is likely out of the Yankees’ reach. Adrian Morejon has also been discussed.

The Yankees have been connected to some of the top names on the market, such as Freddy Peralta and Kyle Tucker, among others. Any top-tier acquisition would do much to offset their flaws, but unless they can repair their unwieldy bullpen, holding the lead late in games could be a struggle. With time running out to grab a solid reliever, the Yankees would be very wise to take a flyer on at least one — and fast.