While the Yankees’ bullpen wasn’t a real problem statistically over the first several weeks of the season, its weakness and relative lack of depth have reared their ugly head over the last week or two, blowing multiple inherited leads during a 2-7 road trip that saw the Yanks lose ground to the Rays in the early divisional race.
Well, after overworking said bullpen in the final two days of the Subway Series at Citi Field, the Yankees are adding another arm to the fray, selecting the contract of right-handed reliever Yovanny Cruz and optioning fill-in fifth-starter Elmer Rodríguez back to Triple-A ahead of Monday’s series opener against the rival Blue Jays.
This move is the culmination of a tremendous rise for Cruz, whose MLB dreams seemed as far away as ever as recently as this offseason. He originally signed with the Chicago Cubs out of the Dominican Republic in August 2016 and slowly rose through their system, but stagnated after the COVID-19 pandemic due to injuries and struggles with command. He elected free agency after 2023 and bounced from the Padres’ system in 2024 to the Red Sox’s Double-A squad in 2025, pitching to a 3.54 ERA in 89 innings across both seasons, but walking 60 as he struggled to command a high-90s fastball.
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After allowing just one run in 18.2 innings with Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League, he was invited to Yankees’ spring training this February and lit up the radar gun, turning heads in the stands and in the clubhouse. Aaron Boone suggested he was seriously considered to break camp with the team, but was ultimately assigned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he’s pitched to a 3.00 ERA in 18 innings with 23 strikeouts to just nine walks.
Cruz’s arsenal is centered around his truly electric fastball, which has touched 102 mph down in Scranton and consistently sits 99, while he complements it with a high-80s slider/cutter and the occasional splitter. His performance has actually waned a bit over the last two weeks after an incredible start, but the Yankees clearly don’t see it as inhibitive towards their belief that he can contribute in the bullpen.
The demotion of Rodríguez is interesting, as he allowed one run in 4.1 innings on Sunday in his third major league start. With no off days in the foreseeable future, the Yankees will need a fifth starter again on Friday against the AL East-leading Rays, and he cannot be recalled without an injury.
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Could this be an indication that they’re willing to end Gerrit Cole’s rehab one start earlier than anticipated to make his long-awaited season debut? It doesn’t seem to be getting ruled out.
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