The New York Yankees built their identity on winning championships, but 2026 marked another season without a World Series title. The Yankees entered this year with hopes of ending their 17-year championship drought. But once again, regular-season dominance failed to translate into postseason success. Aaron Judge’s absence exposed the offense’s vulnerabilities, while the starting rotation struggled to deliver when the stakes were highest.

A roster overhaul may be inevitable, but MLB analyst Joel Sherman believes the Yankees need to address a crucial area sooner rather than later if they want to avoid repeating the mistakes of 2026.

“While the Yankees have very, very few concerns about what their depth of their starting pitching might look like, they have a lot of work to do on their major league bullpen,” New York Post Sports quoted Sherman.

The Yankees’ bullpen struggle was nothing new. They experienced a highly volatile season, defined by staggering early-season collapses and severe late-summer fatigue despite finishing the year with a stellar 3.13 regular-season ERA. The season started with severe stability questions following the offseason departures of Luke Weaver and Devin Williams.

Over a multi-week stretch starting April 5,the bullpen posted a 5.59 ERA, leading to the Yankees losing 8 of 11 games. A single series against the Los Angeles Angels saw relievers surrender 14 earned runs in just 17 innings. High-profile acquisition Camilo Doval drastically underperformed. He posted a 6.75 ERA over his first 14 outings before being moved out of prominent late-inning roles.

Elite breakout arms like Brent Headrick were forced to throw a career-high in innings. And the lack of length from back-end starting pitchers caught up to the pen. “I think they need protection for Headrick,” Sherman added.

Sherman has some names for the Yankees to go for. “Alex Vesia walks a lot of people, but he showed with the Dodgers he could be part of a championship formula from the left side,” Sherman suggested.

Vesia is wrapping up his final year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After playing under a $3.65 million club option during the 2026 season, he is officially set to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the 2027 season. This year, he posted a stellar 2.64 ERA with 74 strikeouts over 58 innings.

New York’s bullpen has historically lacked dependable, high-leverage southpaws capable of neutralizing elite left-handed sluggers in the postseason. Vesia has consistently delivered in October. As a multi-time World Series champion with the Dodgers, he brings a fiery demeanor and a proven track record under the bright lights of the postseason, making him an immediate cultural and tactical fit for the Yankees.

The Yankees’ bullpen blew up enough games in 2026. They would certainly not like to have those repeated next season. In that case, a few new faces would need to be added over the course of the innings. Let’s see if Brian Cashman makes that possible.

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