With the current struggles of Yankees Closing Pitcher Clay Holmes, fans have surged to social media to address who the ball should be given to in the ninth inning to win games. Let’s deep dive the entire bullpen, and some of the starting rotation to see which pitcher should be getting the prestigious role of closer for the New York Yankees.
Tim Mayza LHP (Middle Relief)
Mayza is not exactly built for the closer role. Stats and numbers like ERA and other metrics aside, Mayza has four career saves in seven years of MLB service time. According to FanGraphs, Mayza is a middle reliever and the Yankees should keep him at the spot. With so little time under his belt as a Yankee, he sees no serious chance at becoming the closer.
Tim Hill LHP (Middle Relief)
FanGraphs has Hill listed as a Middle Reliever, but his delivery is something of great closer potential. While he also won’t have a serious shot of being the closer, it’s an interesting characteristic to have and could be a late game advantage. Hill’s also great at limiting contact on the barrel of the bat as well as obtaining ground ball contact. With the velocity not really being there and a low strikeout and whiff rate, the odds of Hill being the closer are slim.
Mark Leiter Jr. RHP (Middle Relief)
Leiter has been used in high leverage situations multiple times by the Yankees, and has shown he can have closing pitcher characteristics at times. Leiter has amazing offspeed stuff that can be utilized late in the game during these high leverage situations. Ranking among the best in the league in chase, whiff, and strikeout rate, Leiter has the swing-and-miss stuff to be a closing pitcher. While he doesn’t have a fastball he utilizes his split-finger and sinker combo to get batters to whiff. If he had a better walk rate, Leiter could easily step in as the closer.
Jake Cousins RHP (Middle Relief)
Cousins has been very good for New York since entering the bullpen and has earned the trust of a lot of fans to be given a shot at the closer role. Cousins has finished six games and recorded a save so far in his 23 games played, while posting a 2.10 ERA. Cousins has a very difficult to hit fastball-sinker combination that sits around 95 MPH. His stats and underlying metrics look very good thus far, and he should be given more chances in high leverage situations later this season.
Luke Weaver RHP (Setup 7)
According to FanGraphs, Luke Weaver is listed as a setup guy for the seventh inning, but has shown his versatility throughout the bullpen all year, being a middle relief innings eater, and a high leverage guy at times as well. Weaver has well above average numbers when it comes to chase, whiff, and strikeout rate, as well as a fastball sitting well above league average at 96 MPH. Weaver possesses a solid changeup and cutter as well, and he could be another solid viable option for some high leverage spots.
Tommy Kahnle RHP (Setup 8)
According to FanGraphs, Kahnle is supposed to be the guy to maintain the lead before the closer comes in. That being said, he’s obviously a very familiar pitcher to late game important situations, and a ninth inning appearance may not feel foreign at all to him. He has great whiff rate numbers as well as hard hit and ground ball rate. His strikeout and walk numbers simply aren’t the best for the closer spot. Kahnle’s posted a 1.74 ERA so far through the 2024 season, and he could be another very good option to put in the closer role, but isn’t a permanent fix.
Michael Tonkin RHP (Late Relief)
Tonkin has shown at times he could maybe be the closer for the Yankees, having various outings where fans thought it was almost auditions for the role where he’s racked up a couple saves. However he’s great in late relief, and arguably way more valuable in that spot. He has a solid four pitch mix, but the velocity isn’t necessarily powerful enough to be an everyday closer.
Clay Holmes RHP (Closing Pitcher)
Many fans are outraged by Holmes, that his blown save count could directly affect the lead in the division the way it has felt inexcusable. However, in terms of pitchers in this bullpen that have the stuff to close a game, Holmes has the best stuff. He’s among the very best at getting ground ball contact, and limits contact to the barrel of the bat. His upper 90s sinker is near impossible to hit when it’s on, and he has better walk numbers than a lot of the bullpen. His 2.88 ERA is still good but his recent struggles are still making Yankee fans outraged.
Who steps into the closer role if not Holmes?
Short answer, nobody is taking the closer spot from Holmes. The Yankees are more than likely not looking to stray away from Holmes not only because he’s been the seasoned closer, but because the advanced metrics show he should be in the spot, and the Yankees are particularly analytical.
While guys like Cousins, Leiter, Kahnle, Tonkin, and Weaver can get more reps in the closer spot at points in the later half of this season, Holmes will almost undoubtedly remain the closer. While the thought of someone like Nestor Cortes entering the bullpen, or even having Luis Gil in the closer role for his velocity and dominance is fun, it’s not very realistic. Clay Holmes has been the closer and Aaron Boone and the Yankees will more than likely stick with him for the remainder of the season.