NEW YORK — The Yankees bullpen has been a problem for weeks. Camilo Doval is posting a 6.14 ERA. Tim Hill made a critical throwing error that cost a game in Milwaukee. Fernando Cruz has been inconsistent. The unit has blown multiple leads and contributed directly to a series loss that snapped the team’s hot streak.
Meanwhile, 90 miles away in Scranton, a 26-year-old right-hander is doing everything short of sending a text message to the front office.
His name is Yovanny Cruz, and he has been one of the best Yankees Triple-A arms this season. His Triple-A numbers are hard to ignore. And Aaron Boone called him pretty dominant on Saturday morning. Yet Cruz remains in Scranton while the Yankees bullpen keeps losing games the rotation wins.
What Cruz is doing in Triple-A
Through 14.2 innings this season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Cruz has posted a 1.23 ERA with 19 strikeouts and just four walks. He has allowed only nine hits. His WHIP sits at 0.89.
Those numbers build on an impressive early-season stretch. Through his first 6.1 innings, he had not allowed a single run. His ERA stood at 0.00. He struck out 10 batters in that span and allowed just two hits and two walks. His WHIP was 0.63 and opponents were batting .093 against him.
The velocity is there too. Cruz is working in the 97-100 mph range. The Yankees bullpen ranked 26th in baseball at one point this season in pitches delivered at 97 mph or higher. Cruz throws that kind of heat routinely, which is something several of the current Yankees relievers cannot offer.
The comparison to the early-season version of Camilo Doval is obvious. Doval arrived with similar velocity and similar hype. The results were initially promising before the command issues returned. Cruz has shown better control than Doval at the same stage. At 26 years old, he is a fresh arm without Doval’s accumulated baggage.
Boone’s assessment: Dominant, but not yet
Baseball reporter Gary Phillips asked Boone about Cruz on Saturday morning. The manager’s answer captured exactly the tension between Cruz’s numbers and the Yankees’ hesitation.
Boone said he has been impressed with Cruz, just as he was during spring training. He noted that controlling the running game is something Cruz still needs to work on. But he said the reliever’s strike-throwing has improved and described him as pretty dominant.
“Pretty dominant” is a strong endorsement. It is also, notably, not a call-up. The Yankees are watching. They are patient. The Yankees are letting Cruz build his case in Triple-A. Meanwhile the big-league bullpen is giving away wins.
The SI.com piece covering the Yankees’ approach on Cruz characterized the organization’s patience as the right call. The argument is that the Yankees want Cruz fully ready before exposing him to a contending team’s bullpen pressure. Rushing an arm before it is ready can cause lasting damage. Especially when there is still one thing to fix.
The bullpen problem Cruz could solve
The Yankees entered the Milwaukee series with what looked like a functional bullpen structure. David Bednar as the closer. Doval and Hill as setup men. Fernando Cruz and Ryan Yarbrough as middle-innings options.
That structure has not held. Doval’s 6.14 ERA in 2026 is a serious number. His 9.39 ERA in eighth-inning appearances this season is worse. He was supposed to be the primary bridge between the rotation and Bednar. He has failed to perform in that role consistently.
Tim Hill had been the most reliable arm in the unit heading into Saturday night in Milwaukee. Then he threw badly to third on a comebacker and the Yankees lost a game they were three outs from winning. He was not charged with an error or a loss, but the result was a series defeat.
That leaves Bednar closing. The middle innings remain a real question mark for the Yankees.
Yovanny Cruz answers that question. He throws hard. He has been throwing strikes. His Triple-A numbers are as good as any reliever in the IL right now.
The velocity question and what Cruz brings
Early this season, @CespedesBBQ data showed the Yankees bullpen ranked 26th in MLB in pitches thrown at 97 mph or higher. Just 12 such pitches at that point. The Colorado Rockies, of all teams, led the majors with 200 such pitches in that same window.
A bullpen with that little top-end velocity will struggle to miss bats in October against quality lineups. The Yankees will face those teams in October if they hold their current position.
Cruz throws 97 to 100 mph with regularity. That is a different profile from most of what the Yankees currently have in their bullpen. Adding him does not just improve the numbers. It changes the type of arm opposing lineups have to prepare for.
The one concern Boone flagged is legitimate for any Yankees reliever. Cruz needs to do a better job controlling the running game. Catchers work with pitchers on this, and it is something that can be refined. It is also not a reason to leave a dominant arm in Triple-A indefinitely while the big-league bullpen keeps losing series.
The Yankees are 26-14. They are the best team in the American League. They want to stay that way. Yovanny Cruz is 90 miles south. He is posting dominant numbers. He is throwing high 90s. He is waiting for a call that has not come. Boone says the strike-throwing has improved and calls him pretty dominant. The bullpen needs help right now.
The dots are there. The Yankees just have to connect them.
What do you think? Should the Yankees call him up now?
