Although the New York Yankees dominate the American League East, they are expected to be aggressive in the MLB trade market, especially in the search for relievers to give more depth to their second-line pitching
“There will be a focus on the bullpen, no doubt about it,” MLB Network specialist Jon Heyman said Monday, although he did not refer to the specific names the Bronx Bombers might pursue
“The focus will be on the bullpen, there’s no doubt about that”
It is clear that manager Brian Cashman is going to fish in the market given the uncertainty surrounding his bullpen, where Mark Leiter Jr., Jonathan Loasiga, Ian Hamilton and Fernando Cruz have faced ups and downs
To make matters worse, Devin Williams, who was supposed to be the star of the bullpen, has not performed at the stellar level he did in Milwaukee, while closer Luke Weaver went 20 days without pitching and on his return to the diamond last weekend was hit by the Orioles
In the last 10 games, the Bombers have faced multiple problems, with seven losses in that span, four of which have been suffered by the relievers. With these thunders, it is normal that the Yankees’ concern is focused on the closers, especially considering that the starting rotation has much more depth despite the absence of Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil.
A banned candidate
Of all the relievers who could potentially be on the trade market, one name stands out above the rest: Aroldis Chapman. The Cuban left-hander has been very dominant with the Red Sox, to the point that he has saved 14 games and struck out 45 of the 121 opponents he has faced
Chapman has allowed just five earned runs in 32 innings of work, for an ERA of 1.41, his lowest mark since he made his Major League debut in 2010. The Caribbean native has moved up to 14th place among the pitchers with the most saves (349) in history of the circuit, surpassing Rollie Fingers and Randy Myers
However, it is almost utopian to think that Brian Cashman will call Boston to inquire about a potential trade for the Cuban, with whom he did not end on very good terms in 2022. That year, Chapman was not well and spent several days on the injured list with a tattoo infection, which deteriorated the relationship between the player and management, who shortly afterwards took it out in the worst way when they left the reliever off the postseason roster
“I think that, the way they were treating me and how they were doing things, they were looking for me to do something, to disrespect someone or commit some indiscipline. They lied, they wanted to get rid of me,” Chapman said, who also said he would never return to the Big Apple
Additional options
Since he knows the house and is one of the best relievers in the game today, Aroldis Chapman would be the ideal option for the Yankees, but since there is no chance of this move taking place, the New Yorkers will have to look in another direction.A potential target could be right-hander Dennis Santana, one of the Pirates’ most coveted pieces on the market, especially since Pittsburgh’s front office is going to act as a seller after falling far short of any chance of postseason qualification
The right-hander has a 1.62 ERA and a spectacular 0.780 WHIP in 33.1 innings of work. As a negative detail, Santana was already with the Yankees last year and did not do well, with a disastrous ERA of 6.26 in 23 games
Another interesting option is Braves left-hander Dylan Lee, who has a 1.83 ERA and 0.845 WHIP in 35 trips to the mound. Atlanta has not completely dropped out of the postseason battle and it is unclear if they will be sellers, but if they continue to play below .500 and away from the wild cards, perhaps they will let go of some pieces
On the other hand, Danny Coulombe and Jhoan Duran of Minnesota and Chris Martin of Texas are other relievers who have attracted attention for their performance in 2025. However, both the Twins and Rangers have yet to define what role they will have before the trade deadline.
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