According to the numbers, the New York Yankees have one of the best bullpens in the league. Their 5.6 fWAR and 3.09 in 527 innings entering play on Monday both rank fifth in baseball, and their 34.2-percent hard-hit rate is behind only the Mariners. While their 14.7 K-BB% rate isn’t ideal at the middle of the pack, their overall performance suggests that Yankees fans ought to feel comfortable whenever the lineup and rotation hand a lead to the bullpen.
And yet, when I look over the names that populate the Yankees bullpen, I can’t help but feel underwhelmed.