Yankees’ bullpen depth impressing in Triple-A to begin season

BALTIMORE — The Yankees have already shaken up their bullpen throughout these first few series of the season, relying on some unlikely arms. With Tommy Kahnle, Lou Trivino and now Jonathan Loáisiga on the injured list, relievers like Jimmy Cordero, Ian Hamilton and Colten Brewer have all been used thus far.

The next wave of reliever depth is down in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, a group of former prospects that are poised to impact this club at some point this season out of the bullpen, possibly soon.

Right-hander Deivi García is the biggest name of the bunch, a pitcher that’s striving to stop a steep downfall and turn his career around. García was ranked as one of the very best prospects in the organization not too long ago, but he’s struggled mightily to find results (at any level) over the last couple of years. He posted a 6.89 ERA in 20 outings between Triple-A and Double-A Somerset in 2022, not pitching in a game for two months to take a reset midway through the season.

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This year, García is coming out of the bullpen, pitching in a role that Yankees manager Aaron Boone compared to that of multi-inning extraordinaire Michael King.

“That’s how they’re planning on using him right now down there. Feel like it’s a way we would potentially use him up here,” Boone said on Sunday morning in Baltimore. “A number of our guys you can see [pitching] two, two-plus innings potentially on a given day.”

It’s a small sample size, but García has pitched well with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre thus far. He has a 2.35 ERA in three outings, allowing two earned runs in 7 2/3 innings. On Saturday, he entered the game in the second inning, pitching three frames with one earned run in relief to earn the win.

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Left-hander Matt Krook has a similar skillset, a pitcher with experience as a starter. His likeliest path to the big leagues this season would be as a long man out of the bullpen. Boone confirmed that Krook — who has a 1.50 ERA in three outings with the RailRiders to begin this season — will also come in from the bullpen in small bursts, rather than stretching out as a starter.

“He’s off to a good start down there,” Boone said.

Then there’s Greg Weissert, a righty with electric stuff that had mixed results in his first stint with the big-league club last summer. He unraveled in his debut to forget late last season out in Oakland, but showed his high upside as well with a filthy slider.

Weissert nearly made the Opening Day roster, but was sent to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at the very end of spring training. It was a decision that came down to Weissert’s roster flexibility, being that the right-hander has options while other arms like Albert Abreu, for instance, do not. He has pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings so far this year, recording three saves as well.

“Weiss is gonna factor in big time, I believe that,” Boone said. “Nothing changed as far as how we think about him. He got a little caught up in the numbers game and being a guy with options and being at the time of the year when you’re trying to hold on and maintain some depth … but I feel like Greg will play a big role for us at some point this year.”

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Max Goodman may be reached at mgoodman@njadvancemedia.com.