With Chad Green going down with a forearm issue, there is a real chance he has thrown his last pitch in a Yankee uniform. He is headed into FA and as a high leverage reliever with the stats to back it up, he was staring at a nice pay day. He still may get one a la Tommy Kahnle, who also blew out his elbow in his swan song in NY and signed a 2 year deal with league minimum for rehab year and a real salary for following year. Maybe that's the only way the Yanks get him back, who knows. That being said, the Yanks pen has been a real strength and has some serious depth waiting for it in the minors.

Starting with the underperformers

Aroldis Chapman- Aroldis is the old guard of the group and still the defacto closer, although the years are starting to wear on him. He lost about 1.5mph off his heater and has seen his K rate drop from other worldly (16+) to good at 10. He has limited homeruns which is good for him, but with the depth of the pen, he will likely be a matchup closer and may shift some of his work into the bridge innings depending on when the lefties will hit

Jon Loaisiga- he has lost his command which has also caused him to leave some pitches down the middle to get creamed. HR rate is sky high, BB rate is sky high. He's seen a drop of 1mph in velocity, but not lower than his first season of high leverage performance 2 years ago when he was a comfortable 96.5mph. Of the two underperformers, Loaisiga is the one I expect to right the ship.

Now the nails

Clay Holmes- I don't know how anyone hits this guy. Walk rate under 1, no homers allowed thus far and putting up a Papelbon-esque 0.44ERA. 83% of the balls put in play are ground balls due to his 96.1mph sinker that moves 8-10 inches. He is under control for two more years after this one and will likely end the year as the closer

Clarke Schmidt- likely the first guy stretched out if a starter goes down for a long period of time, Schmidt has adapted well to being a two pitch pitcher in short stints. His slider is one of the best in the game, and pairing that with a 94mph sinker, he has been able to keep the ball in the park. He is the first of the multi inning weapons Boone has at his disposal

Michael King has been unhittable. Typically thrust into games after shorter outings, he is a multi inning swiss army knife that cuts through offenses like butter. He relies on a hard sinker that tops out at 98mph, he is the rare reliever who throws 3 pitches with regularity. He throws a change about 10% of the time that has the same downward break as his sinker and then throws a curve 24% of the time that is just death on righties. King has become an indispensable weapon to allow the Yanks to come back or to hold leads when a starter doesnt go more than 5

Miguel Castro has mostly been used to protect larger leads or throw in deficits, but he has been very good. He is throwing his typical 98mph sinker with a nasty hook. He walks the park, which is not new. He limits HR's which he has done for two years now. Metrics haven't loved him for years, but he has continuously outperformed them, mostly due to his high GB tendencies. He does well in his current role

Lucas Luetge has seen a bit of a regression in luck this year. While still posting extremely solid peripherals, he has been unable to avoid the big innings. Mostly used in mop up duty, his 6+ ERA belies advanced metrics that say he should be a sub 3ERA pitcher again. He will continue to pitch in mop up for now until his production improves

Wandy Peralta has been a hidden gem ever since getting him from SF. He is a rare lefty sinkerballer who relies on ground balls to get outs. He throws a mid 90s sinker that stays in the park and generates high numbers of ground balls. He has performed well when called upon and is the most likely pitcher to be called upon more now that Green is down

The cavalry

While injuries happen, losing Green won't be easy to replace. But with the Yankees, they always have pen arms in their high minors ready to fill in..

Ron Marinaccio is the most likely callup. He is also a three pitch reliever who is just death on opposing hitters. His brief cameo this year wasn't great with 5 runs in 4IP, but he has been absolutely dominant in AAA. Since going down, he has pitched 6 innings, striking out 15 batters.

JP Sears is on the list as well. Sears is a starter in the minors, left handed, he throws mid 90s with a slider and a change. Since going back to Scranton, he has allowed 12 baserunners in 17 innings, a 0.53ERA and 23K's. He would be the next multi inning tool

Hayden Wesneski is another starter in AAA. 2.31ERA, 0.81WHIP 41K in 39 innings. Would be a multi inning weapon with a big sinker

Two guys in AAA not to forget about

Shelby Miller- remember this kid? Once thought to be the next Cardinal ace, he was dealt around the league, got injured a ton of times and lost his fastball. After being out of the league, the Yanks signed him, had him focus on relief only and he has been a stud. 0.91WHIP, 15K in 14.1IP and an ERA of 2.53. Would it be surprising if he came up and was nails for the Yanks after all the shit he went through?

Manny Banuelos- remember him? One the Yanks #1 prospect, he was dealt away after having arm trouble. Eventually found his way back as a minor league FA and has been very solid as a starter in AAA. 2.88ERA, 1.16WHIP, 23K in 25IP.

Top prospect Ken Waldichuk just got promoted to AAA. The guy has only improved his legend status after barging on the long season scene last year with 30+ scoreless innings. He has K'd 46 in 28IP with a sub 2ERA and been absolutely nasty. He may spend the rest of the year in AAA due to the other options available, but he has the highest ceiling


Two other players who made names for themselves who have fallen off a bit.

Luis Gil just left his start in AAA after throwing a slider then grabbing his elbow. Not good. No official word yet, but that sound like a UCL and that would crush him through the middle of next season

Deivi Garcia, after jumping on the stage in 2020, he did not respond well to a demotion at the start of 2021 and cannot get out of his own head. He has gone from being a command first, movement and deception pitcher to a walk machine who gets hammered. He likely needs a demotion to AA or a phantom IL stint to get his mechanics right, but he has been passed by multiple guys who have their heads on straighter than he does