NY Yankees risk wasting a starter to patch their bullpen

October 16, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

Oct 5, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Ryan Weathers (40) pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays during the seventh inning in game two of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A projected rotation can look full in October and look very different by the first week of April. The Yankees should remember that before deciding Ryan Weathers is a convenient way to fill their bullpen.

Matthew Schmidt raised the possibility of using Weathers in relief in a Thursday Roundtable Sports offseason column. It is a reasonable proposal to examine, not an announced Yankees plan. A left-hander with his ability could help in that assignment. The cost is the starting work New York would be asking somebody else to provide.

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Weathers already gave the Yankees useful innings

Weathers made 25 regular-season starts and threw 137 1/3 innings with a 3.60 ERA. He struck out 143 and walked 38. A pitcher who supplied that workload shouldn’t be moved permanently because six names fit neatly onto an offseason depth chart.

Oct 3, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Ryan Weathers (40) delivers a pitch in the sixth inning in game one of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Will Warren are all still on the current roster. Add Weathers and there are six recognizable starting options. That doesn’t establish six healthy pitchers ready to handle every assignment for an entire season, or settle which five should get the opening jobs.

I wouldn’t convert him to a permanent reliever before that surplus actually exists. Keep him prepared to start, let the winter’s other decisions develop and assess the available innings when the team has more information. Reversing a relief assignment after a rotation injury is possible, but rebuilding a workload isn’t as simple as changing the label next to his name.

The bullpen argument deserves a fair hearing

There is an appealing version of the idea. In a shorter assignment, a starter can attack hitters without planning for several trips through the order. A multi-inning left-hander also gives a manager more ways to finish a game than a pitcher restricted to one narrow matchup.

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None of that guarantees Weathers would become a dominant reliever. His starter numbers don’t establish how his command, recovery or stuff would respond to a different schedule. New York would be making a projection, not exchanging 137 innings of proven starting work for an equally proven late-game outcome.

The sensible alternative is to leave relief available as a situational assignment. If the rotation is healthy, another starter has earned the place and a particular stretch calls for extra bullpen length, Weathers could help there. An occasional adjustment wouldn’t require constructing the winter around the assumption that his starting value is disposable.

There are limits on the other side too. His 2026 workload wasn’t 200 innings, and one useful season doesn’t guarantee future durability. If the Yankees receive a strong trade proposal or acquire a clearly better starter, the choice changes. Neither a return nor a final 2027 role has been established here.

I’d make the club prove it has extra starting innings before spending them. Solving one bullpen opening is a poor bargain if New York then has to buy back the same rotation depth in July.

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