Yankees bashed for not fixing issue after losing two elite players to Mets during offseason

Yankees bashed for not fixing issue after losing two elite players to Mets during offseason originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

I don’t want to say that the New York Yankees have been horrible to start this season, but their past 10 games certainly haven’t gone as planned. The Yankees have gone 3-7 over their last 10 and now sit at 9-8 overall. Still right there in the mix for the top spot in the American League East early on in the campaign, it’s not exactly like the Yankees put themselves in some horrible position through these 10 games.

However, there have been some concerning signs, and while I haven’t loved what the offense has looked like, others believe it’s the bullpen that’s been the biggest issue. In a sense, it’s almost tough to justify.

“New York Yankees: Ignoring the bullpen I get that Brian Cashman did much of the heavy lifting for the 2026 bullpen at the 2025 trade deadline by acquiring the likes of David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird. I also like Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill a lot. Depth in this ‘pen is a major issue, though.
“I mean, they began their season with Winquest, Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough securing the final three spots of the bullpen. Winquest had no MLB experience, and both Blackburn and Yarbrough are long relievers that the Yankees should want no part of seeing in big spots,” Zachary Rotman of FanSided wrote.

I hate to blame the injuries to the starting rotation, but Carlos Rodon being down and Gerrit Cole being out certainly doesn’t help with what the Yankees are currently dealing with. I’ll be interested to see what things might look like if and when they get healthy. 

Not that the Yankees are going to move some of these guys to the bullpen, but I think it’s an option, so I want to see what this team looks like fully healthy before I make a judgment about where things stand.

More MLB news:

• Red Sox made an Alex Bregman mistake, but it actually started before letting him walk to Cubs
• Juan Soto gets new return to play update for New York Mets
• Mets’ Carlos Mendoza could soon face heat as New York’s manager, per MLB writer
• Red Sox Triston Casas setback should all but guarantee his future in Boston doesn’t exist
• Yankees can fix Ben Rice situation with one small solution
• Yankees get very encouraging news on top prospect George Lombard Jr. and his new position