Luke Weaver comes up big again to lift Yankees’ shorthanded bullpen

The Yankees bullpen is down an arm, with Fernando Cruz sidelined with a shoulder injury and unavailable since his last appearance on Saturday.

But Luke Weaver continues to make up for their bullpen deficiencies, whether it’s an injury to Cruz or taking over as closer for Devin Williams after the ex-Brewers closer belly flopped in the early going in The Bronx.

Wednesday, Weaver entered a tie game in the top of the ninth after Yerry de los Santos allowed a leadoff single to Sam Haggerty.

Weaver got Wyatt Langford and Josh Jung to fly to center before he ended the inning by throwing to second to get Haggerty, attempting to swipe the bag.

That set up Jasson Domínguez’s game-winning homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth of a 4-3 win.

Aaron Boone called it a “good, gritty win, when we’re kind of short” in the bullpen. Not only are they without Cruz, but Ian Hamilton has struggled.

Jonathan Loáisiga is getting back into form, though he wasn’t at his sharpest Wednesday.

Weaver has allowed just one run in 20 appearances, covering 21 ²/₃ innings.

Luke Weaver walks off the field after getting out of the ninth inning in the Yankees’ 4-3 walk-off win over the Rangers on May 21, 2025.

“He’s been great,’’ Boone said of the right-hander. “He’s done a good job of commanding the ball and putting it where he wants. Some nights he’s been overpowering, electric. Other nights he’s done it with moxie and feel with the changeup. Ultimately, it comes down to getting the ball where he wants consistently.”

But as so many other relievers have shown, it’s not that simple.

He did on Tuesday, when Hamilton couldn’t finish the game, knocked out after a two-run homer, followed by a triple.

Luke Weaver throws a pitch during the ninth inning of the Yankees’ win over the Rangers.

Then Weaver had to come in with one on and no one out Wednesday after Boone tried to get an extra out from de los Santos in the ninth.

As he’s shown often since taking over for Clay Holmes as closer for the final month of the regular season last year, Weaver has been undaunted.

On a night when they got five innings from reliever-turned-starter Ryan Yarbrough then needed five current relievers to finish it, Weaver was the stabilizing force at the end, as he earned his sixth save of the season.

The four saves he had last year were the first of his career, but he’s clearly comfortable at the end of games and can do it in a variety of ways.

His role may be even more important while Cruz is out, though Williams’ improved showing since being put into a setup role, as well as the return of Loáisiga and solid performances from Mark Leiter Jr. and Tim Hill have the Yankees set up well in the pen for the foreseeable future.