The Yankees appear to be dealing with a potential "mess". That would be the bullpen,
which has not been particularly bad statistically—the relievers have a 27-19 record and a 3.69 ERA—
but has struggled to hold leads in big situations, as evidenced by the 11 blown saves by closer Clay Holmes, who has been demoted in favor of a closer-by-committee approach.
It's not the best method to manage a bullpen heading into the playoffs, when you need to know which relievers can be relied on in the many situations
that will undoubtedly arise. There isn't much on the relievers roster that manager Aaron Boone can trust.
One scout told New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman, "Their bullpen is still a mess."
But, perhaps, the best approach for the Yankees to clean up the mess is to turn to their most consistent relief pitcher and hope he can handle the closer role in the playoffs.
That would be 31-year-old journeyman Luke Weaver, who has pitched for six different clubs in nine years in the majors and collected his first save on September 6 (his second came a week later).
Heyman posted the following on Tuesday morning in an article titled "Tweaks the Yankees should make to end their 15-year World Series drought":
"Hire Luke Weaver as the primary closer. Clay Holmes is a good closer who had some bad luck, but it isn't worth bringing him back full-time and reminding
everyone that he botched 11 saves. Weaver is simply better this year (0.95 WHIP, 3.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio), therefore it's hardly worth revisiting this issue.
While Weaver's numbers have been strong so far this season, his lack of closing experience must be concerning
He has made 202 career appearances, hence fewer than 1% of his games have resulted in saves. Is it a good idea to hand up the ball to a rookie to conclude a game?