NEW YORK — The Yankees may not have to look only outside the organization for bullpen help. One of their hardest-throwing prospects is being fast-tracked, and the timing points straight at the deadline.
Carlos Lagrange, the flamethrowing right-hander the Yankees still view as a future starter, has been retooled into a reliever at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The team expects him to be physically ready for a big league bullpen audition before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
That timeline matters because it could shape how aggressively the Yankees shop for relief arms. An effective Lagrange in the Bronx might reduce how many outside relievers the front office needs to acquire, turning an internal option into a deadline lever.
Pitching coach Matt Blake made the expectation plain, framing it as a question of fit rather than readiness. The 23-year-old has the workload built up. What remains is whether the Yankees trust the role in a pennant race.
A deliberate move to the bullpen
The Yankees shifted Lagrange to relief at Triple-A on June 3, beginning a gradual reversal of a starter’s routine. His first outing that day spanned four innings and 62 pitches, resembling piggyback work behind an opener.
From there the appearances shortened on purpose. He threw 2 2/3 innings on June 9, the first time he entered mid-inning, then three innings June 14, 1 2/3 innings June 18, and finally his first one-inning relief outing June 21, a scoreless frame on 22 pitches.
RailRiders bullpen coach Peter Larson described the transition as the inverse of building a starter up, with the real challenge being the day-to-day routine rather than the innings themselves.
“It’s the opposite of a ramp-up for a starter,” Larson said. “It’s not so much the innings or the pitches. It’s the new routine of what between outings looks like.”
Larson said Lagrange has handled the change well, adjusting his weight room, training and throwing work to bounce back faster between outings.
Blake says Lagrange will be ready in time
Blake was direct when the Daily News asked whether he expects Lagrange to be promoted before the deadline. The answer pointed to a player whose physical buildup is nearly complete.
“He would be equipped to do that before the deadline,” Blake said. “As far as his progression to being a major league reliever in terms of workload and usage, he would be available before the deadline. It’s just a matter of what our comfort level is, what it looks like in the pen, all that.”
Blake has liked what he has seen since the conversion. He praised the strikes and the stuff while noting the final adjustment is about quicker turnarounds, not raw ability.
“It seems like he’s been solid so far. He’s throwing a lot of strikes,” Blake said. “The stuff’s been what we expect, but he seems like he’s taken to it so far. Now it’s just shortening it up and getting him used to quicker turnarounds.”
The stuff is playing in the new role
The early results back the optimism. Since moving to the bullpen, Lagrange has a 2.19 ERA with 17 strikeouts and six walks over 12 1/3 innings, and his strikeout rate has jumped from 29 percent as a starter to 34 percent as a reliever.
The velocity has shown up in short bursts. In that June 21 scoreless inning against Columbus, Lagrange ran his fastball up to 100.9 mph and earned two whiffs on his slider, per MLB.com. He is the Yankees’ No. 4 prospect and ranks No. 72 on MLB Pipeline’s overall list.
His command remains the swing factor. Lagrange’s walk rate has held roughly steady, near 12 percent, though Larson noted he has thrown more first-pitch strikes in the new role while still using his full arsenal.
Larson expects Lagrange to be ready in every sense, including the mental side, when the call comes.
“He doesn’t waver at all,” Larson said. “He’s super competitive. He just wants to pitch. He wants to win, and he wants nothing more than to help the big league team if that opportunity were ever to come up.”
How it shapes the deadline
The Yankees have gotten strong work atop the bullpen from closer David Bednar, Fernando Cruz and Brent Headrick, but the back end has been shakier, with a few high-leverage spots that could be upgraded. That uncertainty is why outside help still looms.
Lagrange is not the only internal candidate. Hard-throwing RailRider Yovanny Cruz, swingman Ryan Weathers and Clarke Schmidt, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, could all factor in later. None offers a guarantee, which is why the Yankees are still expected to pursue relievers before Aug. 3.
A promotion is not imminent. Larson said the team is probably a few weeks or a few more outings away from even discussing it, with back-to-back appearances and a return to multi-inning work still ahead.
For now, Lagrange remains at Triple-A, building toward a role the Yankees hope can matter in October. If the buildup holds and the strikes keep coming, the team’s most intriguing internal answer could arrive with time to spare before the deadline forces its hand.
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