The New York Yankees bullpen, after posting the lowest ERA in the majors in 2023, is a much different group this season. Key players left over the winter, replaced by relatively unknown newcomers, while others exited early due to injuries. A relegation would have made sense.
But the Yankees' relief corps is again among the best in the game, with the second-highest aggregate win probability and second-best ERA in the majors. The anchor is the most notable holdover: Clay Holmes, the only qualified reliever who has yet to allow an earned run in 2024.
With the Yankees off to a 27-15 start, fueled in part by their outstanding bullpen, Holmes could be the best closer in baseball.
“STUD, all capital letters,” Yankees reliever Luke Weaver said.
Holmes, in his second full season as New York's closer, has recorded 21 strikeouts with three walks in 17⅓ innings and leads the American League with 12 saves. And ask anyone in the Yankees clubhouse: Holmes' performance in Baltimore earlier this month is still a buzzword.
The Yankees, six outs from victory, had a 2-0 lead after falling to the Orioles in the first two games of the four-game series. A third straight loss to their main competition in the AL East would be about as draining as it gets on May 1. The first two Orioles reached base in the bottom of the frame. Moments later, with one out and the top of the Orioles' order closing in, Yankees manager Aaron Boone called on Holmes for a five-out save. What followed was an electric and dazzling performance.
Holmes struck out Gunnar Henderson, named American League Player of the Month two days later, with a pair of sharp sliders and a 97 mph sinker. He then knocked down Adley Rutschman, the Orioles' star catcher, with two hard sinkers over the plate, followed by a slider that nearly dropped Rutschman to one knee. Crisis averted. Holmes then held half of the Orioles' explosive lineup scoreless in the ninth to secure the victory.
“That's as disgusting as it sounds,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said after watching the display. “When you're bowling balls at 97 mph with a slider, it's going to be tough to score against.”
Veteran catcher José Treviño was present in Holmes' All-Star season in 2022. He has caught some of Holmes' most dominant outings. But that was the best he'd ever seen from the closer.
“And I told him that,” Treviño said.
Now in his fourth season with the Yankees, Holmes has the second-highest ERA+ for a Yankees reliever with at least 160 appearances, trailing only Mariano Rivera. He was an All-Star in 2022, taking the closer's job from Aroldis Chapman midseason. He was effective again in 2023, his first full season in charge, with a +152 ERA in 66 appearances.
But he's been even better in 2024. And with Holmes starring in the backfield, the Yankees' bullpen boasts a 2.69 ERA, trailing only the Cleveland Guardians, even after a near-collapse on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays . All this despite the significant year-on-year turnover.
Michael King, the Yankees' multi-inning weapon last season, was traded as part of the package for Juan Soto. Wandy Peralta, their top lefty in 2023, is also in San Diego after signing a four-year deal with the Padres in free agency. Pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga underwent season-ending elbow surgery after three appearances last month. Tommy Kahnle, currently on a minor league rehab assignment, has yet to throw a pitch in the majors this year.
The Yankees acquired left-handers Caleb Ferguson and Victor Gonzalez from the Dodgers during the offseason. They signed Dennis Santana, to his fourth team in four years, to a minor league contract. They converted Weaver, a 30-year-old former first-round pick, from a starter to a reliever.
Ian Hamilton, one of the few 2023 relievers still on the roster, had allowed eight earned runs in 15 appearances over three seasons when he signed with the Yankees before the start of last season. The 28-year-old right-hander was a revelation, posting a 2.64 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 39 games.
“There's a lot of comfort in showing that what we do can get people out there playing all the time,” Hamilton said of the Yankees coaching staff. “It sounds ridiculous, but then [there’s] The Yankee effect. When you're in the bullpen here, you just want to perform and shine against the Yankees. It doesn't make it easy, but that motivation is as always here. “There's always that drive.”
Boone credited the Yankees front office for his ability to identify undervalued weapons and maximize their abilities. The experience has produced bullpens that have finished in the top five in ERA over the past three seasons. No one embodies the organization's ability to build bullpens better than Holmes.
The Yankees acquired the 6-foot-5 right-hander from the Pittsburgh Pirates in July 2021 in exchange for infielders Diego Castillo and Hoy Park. Holmes had a 4.93 ERA in 42 innings that season at the time of the trade. He had a career ERA of 5.57 over parts of four seasons. Nothing indicated that dominance was just around the corner.
“We feel like he's going to be a guy who is already very tough on right-handers,” Boone said at the time, “but we feel like he has the material and the repertoire to go somewhere else.”
The Yankees had Holmes abandon his curveball for a sweeper to complement his sinker and gyroscopic slider. The libero, a slider with more break, plays best against right-handed hitters. The gyro slider, a harder option, is more effective against lefties. He allowed just five runs in 25 outings to close the regular season.
Three years later, Holmes has yet to allow a hit on any of his sliders and posted the second-highest ground ball rate (71.1%) among qualified relievers behind a devastating sinker averaging 96.3 mph. He has a 61.5% error rate on the 34 liberos he has thrown (all to righties) with six strikeouts. His gyroscopic slider ranks as the best slider in the majors, according to the Run Value/100 Pitches statistic.
“For me, a big part of this is defining my direction,” Holmes said. “I can just go down the mound faster and I think that helps my body move a little better. I just know my lanes, the direction I need to go. It's a product of me just moving down the mound.” better. Free my arm.
Holmes' only blemish so far this season came after shortstop Anthony Volpe's error on a routine play led to three unearned runs in the 10th inning of a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 3. On Friday, the Rays nearly ended their streak of scoreless innings. but he escaped a bases-loaded jam with his third strikeout of the inning, closing out a 2-0 victory and maintaining his 0.00 ERA.
“Clay is pretty much the same person every day: calm,” Hamilton said. “He is ready to play practically any day. As many times as necessary.”
