Despite a slew of ailments, the New York Yankees have had the finest bullpen in baseball thus far, and some reinforcements may be on the way to make that group even stronger. Yesterday, Nick Burdi made his second rehab appearance with the Scranton RailRiders. Tomorrow, another important reliever for the Yankees will start his rehabilitation. Tommy Kahnle, a returning member of the bullpen from the previous season, is scheduled to report to the Tampa Tarpons today to start his rehabilitation assignment.
Oswald Peraza, who hit a home run in his first rehab game, is also with the Yankees’ Single-A affiliate in Tampa, and the team could get a high-leverage bullpen piece back in the near future.
Tommy Kahnle was one of the Yankees’ greatest relievers the previous season; in 40.2 innings, he pitched to a 2.66 ERA, striking out 48 hitters and recording two saves. Before the 2023 season, he signed a two-year contract, and although he has started the season on the injured list both times, the Yankees have benefited from his presence in the pen. Especially this year, they’ve been able to survive without him thanks to the depth in their bullpen.
Right now the Yankees have the best bullpen ERA in baseball (2.22) and the best Win Probability Added (3.54) as well, and that’s with the myriad of injuries they’ve had. They’re running a rag-tag group of relievers with minimal experience or success at the Major League level, but the organization has found diamonds in the rough with guys like Luke Weaver and Dennis Santana.
The Yankees might be able to get some serious production from Kahnle if his stuff is as good as it was last season, as the fastball-changeup combination is deadly. Right now the team’s strength is their bullpen, and they could be on the verge of getting back a huge piece to help fill out the most important innings of a ballgame. With the way Clay Holmes is dealing right now, they have a lockdown closer, and their bullpen could be the best in the game with some of their upcoming additions.
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