The New York Yankees have been one of the most dominant teams in Major League Baseball this season, but even the best clubs have room for improvement. While the rotation is in excellent shape with the returns of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón, the bullpen could use a bit of reinforcement.
According to Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller, the Yankees' top trade deadline priority should be finding help for closer David Bednar. Bednar has been solid in the ninth inning, but the team lacks a reliable setup man who can also step into the closer role when needed. "David Bednar has been solid enough at closer, but they would greatly benefit from a 'set-up man who can close on occasion,'" Miller writes.
Fortunately, this is a need that should be relatively easy to address. The Yankees aren't looking for a specific type of pitcher, like a lefty specialist or a dominant closer—they simply need more middle-relief depth. And every year at the trade deadline, there's no shortage of quality middle relievers available.
This season, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird haven't lived up to expectations, leaving a clear gap in the setup role. The Yankees have internal options they could explore, such as calling up Carlos Lagrange or moving Ryan Weathers to the bullpen for the final stretch. But the most likely solution will come from the trade market.
While it's too early to know exactly who will be available, one name to watch is Houston Astros reliever Bryan Abreu. Regardless of how the Yankees choose to fill this role, finding a reliable setup man for Bednar should be their top priority—and with the trade market's usual abundance of middle relievers, it's a problem that should be solved without much difficulty.
