Yankees Rumors: Left-Handed Reliever Still Being Pursued

New York Yankees Rumors: Left-handed relief help is still on the Yankees do-to list this offseason.

New York Yankees rumors have slowed down in recent weeks as the heavy lifting of the offseason has been done. But, there is still some areas of concern for the Yankees with Spring Training quickly approaching.

One of those areas is in the bullpen. The Yankees got their big prize, signing Aroldis Chapman to the biggest contract for a reliever in MLB history. It may be an expensive contract, but it is a coup for the Yankees. They didn’t trade major prospects to the Cincinnati Reds last offseason and received a major haul from the Chicago Cubs this past trade deadline for him.

Now, Chapman returns to the back of the Yankees bullpen to make an impressive one-two punch with Dellin Betances. While that is as strong a late game combination as any in the major leagues, the Yankees could use some help to bridge the gap to them.

As a result, the Yankees are remaining engaged in the pitching market according to general manager Brian Cashman. But, Cashman made it clear that the Yankees won’t add an arm just for the sake of adding; it will have to be a piece that fits in financially as they are prepared to go into Spring Training with the pitchers they currently have.

"“We benefited from that at the Trade Deadline, but now, obviously, on the acquisition side of it, it’s very costly to do business as well,” Cashman said. “We’ll continue to evaluate it and stay engaged, but we’re prepared to go to Spring Training with the team we have currently if need be.”"

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports that the Yankees are one of a number of teams still looking for left-handed relief help. Along with the Yankees, Heyman is hearing the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, and Toronto Blue Jays are all looking to add left-handed pitching to their bullpen as well.

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It should come as no surprise those are the teams still searching as all four are expected to be contenders this season. With the attention that has been placed on bullpens, specifically at the end of games, it should be no surprise teams are having an arms race to add talent to their relief corps.

Two names to keep an eye on in connection to the Yankees are Boone Logan and Jerry Blevins. Logan has pitched with the Yankees previously, having the three best seasons of his career in pinstripes from 2010-2013. He has spent the last three seasons with the Colorado Rockies.

Blevins would fit more into the equation as a lefty-specialist. Blevins has good career numbers with a 3.44 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 361 strikeouts in 371 1/3 innings, but performs better against left-handed batters. Left-handed batters slash .214/.266/.322 against Blevins compared to .243/.332/.387.

Both slash lines are good, as Blevins would be an excellent addition to anyone’s bullpen as a late-inning specialist or bridge reliever. He most recently pitched with the Mets, spending the last two seasons there, spending one season before that with the Oakland Athletics and all of the previous seasons in his career with the Washington Nationals.

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Both Logan and Blevins would be excellent additions to the Yankees bullpen. Right now the only lefty the Yankees have in middle-relief is Tommy Layne. Adding some veteran insurance would make a lot of sense for the Bronx Bombers.

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