Bit by bit, the New York Yankees are shaping up their roster for the upcoming season. The general manager’s meetings have concluded and it’s time to start looking at how the new additions position themselves. Which pitcher best suits the set-up role?
Assessing In-House Alternatives for Yankees’ Setup Position
The set-up man is primarily the pitcher that works before the closer; usually summoned and works the eighth inning. The role is to shut down the inning and flash a unique and dominant pitch arsenal.
This will give a different look from the starter and the closer. The change in arm will keep the offense on their toes and thrown off.
The Yankees have sealed the deal on a closer, signing right-hander Devin Williams. This new option will be another journey in the late innings of the ball game.
We’ve witnessed how manager Aaron Boone organized his bullpen in the postseason this past season. How will the set-up man fit into the equation this time? What options are available?
Luke Weaver Could Move Into The Set-Up Role
Yankees reliever Luke Weaver was a savior in the postseason. His late showings were enough to trust him in the closer role, after Clay Holmes was subsequently removed and repurposed.
With the signing of Williams, Weaver can expect to fulfill two possible roles in the bullpen. Williams will be the primary closer, however, Weaver could fill in as a back-up closer when needed.
Further to this, Weaver very well could be the top option to scale back one inning as the set-up man. The right-handed reliever has shut-down stuff with consistency and an effective pitch arsenal.
His command is above satisfactory. Weaver throws a ton of strikes, with first pitch strikes to get ahead of his batters. His four-seam fastball is pinpointed on the corners and rises with bite, averaging 95 mph.
Weaver throws three other pitches, making his arsenal a total of four. As a set-up option, the right-handed reliever holds a strong profile to succeed in the inning leading up to the save situation.
In the 2024 regular season, he finished with a 7-3 record in 62 games and 84 innings. He struck out 103 batters and held a 2.89 ERA.
Mark Leiter Jr
Mark Leiter Jr is one of the more effective arms in the Yankees bullpen. The reliever has shown competence in short-relief and in scenario-based matchups. Boone utilized Leiter Jr to escape certain detrimental situations in the postseason.
Leiter Jr pitched in six games going 1-0 in five and 1 / 3 innings, with a 1.69 ERA in the postseason. In the regular season he went 4-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 58 innings pitched.
The short-reliever keeps it short and sweet, working effectively in a one-to-two inning span. He has no problem getting three outs in an inning and utilizing six pitch-options to seal the deal. This season he recorded a 33.6% percentage and a 13.1% strikeouts per inning.
Leiter Jr would compliment the set-up role well, as late-game matchups in short instances seems to be where he strives.
Could A Set-Up Option Include A Starter?
As much as we’d like to see Jonathan Loaisiga or Will Warren, they have not shown much statistically to insert in that area. Loaisiga has been battling injury and has below minimum innings under his belt.
That being said, time will tell where his performance is at, based on his bounce back from injury and preparation to jump back into competition. Warren hasn’t pitched enough to be comfortable with the scenario at the big-league level. March and April will tell more about those guys.
The Yankees currently have six starting pitchers on their depth charts. It is believed that at least one if not two of these pitchers will be dealt this offseason. If not, there’s room to play with arms in the bullpen.
The most legible arm to dominate a set-up role would be right-handed starter Marcus Stroman. Stroman was moved to the bullpen for a short time during the season. He was then included on the American League Championship Series roster but was not in the rotation. In-fact, he did not play.
Boone once spoke of a starter possibly closing or moving into late-game relief. Stroman was one of the names, the other being Nestor Cortes who is no longer a Yankee,
The positive to Stroman being in that role in 80% less workload, and possibly an even better challenge for him, with the assignment of three batters in a hotspot in the game.
The experienced all-star pitcher has skills on the mound, and toys with a grocery list of pitches. He operates seven different pitch options. It is without a doubt that the Yankee starter could succeed in this role for beyond one inning and utilize his strikeout abilities to warmup the seat for Williams in the ninth.
