The Yankees’ bullpen started the year on fire, protecting leads left and right and enjoying a few breakout performances from unexpected pitchers — or at least that’s what it looked like. Now, a few weeks into the season, the unit has looked leaky and inconsistent in recent games.
This has caused the Yanks to make some roster decisions after returning Cade Winquest to the St. Louis Cardinals to make room for Luis Gil in the rotation last week. One such move came after Monday’s rollercoaster win, when they demoted Jake Bird. Then, in search of another fresh arm after Tuesday’s 7-1 loss, they optioned Bird’s replacement, Yerry De los Santos, to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barres after pitching two innings.
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To replace De los Santos on the active roster, New York has decided to bring up Angel Chivilli, whom they acquired in a late-January trade with the Colorado Rockies, sending T.J. Rumfield in return.
Chivilli, a Brian Cashman project not dissimilar from Bird, posted a 7.06 ERA in 58.2 innings last year in Colorado, with a 6.03 FIP and a much more decent 4.86 xFIP. He surrendered 1.9 home runs per nine.
The stuff is what intrigues New York more than the numbers. The 23-year-old has a fastball that averaged 97.1 mph last year, good enough to rank in the 88th percentile. It doesn’t have an impressive movement profile, though. Chivilli’s two breaking balls—a slider and a changeup—are far more promising and actually yielded excellent results last year, with a 45.4 percent and a 42.6 percent whiff rate, respectively.
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The Yankees had high hopes for Chivilli, but a 12.38 ERA in spring training cost him a spot on the Opening Day roster. Instead, the organization sent him to Triple-A, where he has thrived with 8.1 dominant innings of a perfect 0.00 ERA, two walks, and nine punchouts.
Chivilli will get his first true chance in prinstripes, hoping to become a trusted reliever in a bullpen that needs sure things.
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