NEW YORK — The last six outs of the Yankees’ season belonged to the other bullpen.
On Oct. 7 at Yankee Stadium, Tampa Bay won 4-3 to finish a three-game sweep in the AL Division Series. Victor Mesa Jr. broke a tie with a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Then the Rays’ relief corps took over. Ian Seymour, Griffin Jax, Cam Booser and Kevin Kelly followed starter Nick Martinez, and Bryan Baker recorded the save.
The Yankees now head into the winter with the opposite problem. Their late-inning group is breaking apart.
A bullpen walking out the door
Closer David Bednar is a free agent. So are relievers Paul Blackburn, Ryan Yarbrough, Tim Hill, John Schreiber and Michael Fulmer.
That is six arms gone from the Yankees pitching staff. Bednar alone leaves a hole in the ninth inning that Aaron Boone has to fill before spring training.
Free agency can patch some of the Yankees’ losses. But the most valuable relievers on the trade market tend to be young, cheap and controlled for years. Teams rarely give them away for anything but real big-league talent.
The Yankees may already have that talent on the roster. It just happens to play first base.
The 30-homer chip
Luis Garcia Jr. finished 2026 with 30 homers and a .277/.309/.521 slash line. It was the first 30-homer season of his career. The 26-year-old New York native split the year between Washington and the Yankees, who acquired him at the trade deadline for Yovanny Cruz, Jake Bird, Jack Cebert and Ben Grable.
On Sept. 30, his solo shot off Sonny Gray started a 9-2 win that knocked Boston out of the wild-card round.
The production came with a complication. Garcia is a left-handed-hitting first baseman, and so is Ben Rice, one of the club’s most productive hitters this season. Garcia is also projected to earn about $11 million in his final year of arbitration before free agency after the 2027 season.
The ALDS exposed the Yankees’ lean. In Game 2 at Tropicana Field, Garcia was among the left-handed hitters Boone left in against Rays lefty Ian Seymour.
The near miss and a second opportunity
The Arizona Diamondbacks were the runner-up for Garcia at the deadline, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Arizona pivoted to outfielder Lars Nootbaar and narrowly missed the National League playoffs.
First base sank them. Diamondbacks first basemen posted a combined .636 OPS, the worst mark in the majors by nearly 30 points.
Garcia’s .830 OPS was nearly 200 points higher than what Arizona got from the position.
Sherman’s bullpen idea
Sherman raised the concept on the Pinstripe Post podcast. He was careful to frame it as his own hypothetical, not a reported negotiation.
He first made clear that the question was not about Garcia’s talent.
“I think Garcia is a very good major league hitter. I don’t think last year was flukey,” Sherman said.
The bigger issue, Sherman argued, is money. Baseball’s labor deal expires Dec. 1, and he expects the next one to bring stiffer costs for top spenders.
“We are probably going to get, if not a salary cap, some tougher penalties for the upper end of payrolls,” Sherman said.
That outlook shapes how the Yankees might view a second left-handed first baseman due for a big contract.
“And I can’t imagine the Yankees who probably figured they’re going to have to pay Ben Rice at some point, re-signing another like player long-term for big money,” Sherman said.
He then named Arizona’s controllable arms, including right-hander Juan Morillo and left-hander Brandyn Garcia. He stressed that he had not heard of any talks.
“Again, I’m totally making this up,” Sherman said.
The question he posed was specific.
“Can the Yankees get access to a guy who pitches in the last six outs of the game who has multiple years of control for a first baseman?” Sherman said.
What Arizona could offer
Diamondbacks bullpen arms Sherman’s idea could target
| Pitcher | Throws | 2026 line | Control status |
| Juan Morillo | R | 2.24 ERA, 64 1/3 IP, 28% K rate, 50.9% GB rate | Pre-arbitration; five years of club control |
| Brandyn Garcia | L | 1.93 ERA, 51 1/3 IP, 5-for-5 in saves | Rookie; pre-arbitration |
| Justin Martinez | R | 2.03 ERA, 13 1/3 IP | Under club control |
Juan Morillo is the prize. The right-hander posted a 2.24 ERA over 64 1/3 innings with a 28% strikeout rate and a 50.9% ground-ball rate. He has five years of club control remaining and is not yet arbitration-eligible.
Brandyn Garcia, a rookie, went 5-for-5 in save chances as Arizona shifted to a closer-by-committee approach late in the season.
Trading either would cost Arizona, too. Jonathan Loáisiga, Kevin Ginkel, Taylor Clarke, Ryan Thompson, Derek Law, Dennis Santana and A.J. Puk are all headed for free agency.
The control math behind the swap
The case for a deal comes down to years. Garcia offers one guaranteed season before free agency. Morillo offers five.
Garcia’s projected $11 million salary would land on a payroll already facing pressure. Morillo would cost a fraction of that as a pre-arbitration pitcher.
Moving Garcia would also free the designated hitter spot for a right-handed bat, a clear need after the ALDS.
The Yankees acquired Garcia to add power, and he delivered. Trading a 30-homer bat for a reliever who has rarely closed games would be a bet on bullpen value over lineup depth.
Sherman also floated Garcia as a chip for a third base upgrade.
Where things stand
The Yankees and Diamondbacks may choose to negotiate during the official offseason period.
Arbitration decisions and the non-tender deadline arrive in November, and the labor deal expires Dec. 1. Arizona owner Ken Kendrick has said payroll will drop in 2027, which makes a cost-controlled reliever more valuable to the Diamondbacks, not less.
For now, the Yankees have a closer vacancy and a surplus first baseman. Whether they solve one with the other may decide how the last six outs look in 2027.
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