The New York Yankees didn’t add a meaningful relief pitcher at the MLB trade deadline in part because they believe in relievers like Brent Headrick.
But even though Headrick has been excellent as one of the Yankees’ best high-leverage relievers, his heavy usage is of some concern to the team.
Headrick has a 1.55 ERA and made his 65th appearance Wednesday in the Yankees’ 5-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. He picked up his seventh win of the season, pitching a perfect seventh inning — despite Pete Alonso’s near-home run — and recording a strikeout.
Brent Headrick Is Being Used a Lot
There is some alarm about Headrick’s usage. His 64 innings are by far the most of his four-season major-league career, and his most since 2023, when he was a starting pitcher.
“Obviously it’s a concern when you get to this volume of work,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake told The Athletic. “But it’s something we’ve just got to monitor down the stretch and be smart about trying to win every game versus trying to set ourselves up for October.”
Beyond the heavy workload, Headrick is being deployed almost daily. When he was a starter, he’d get at least four days off between outings, but that’s no longer the case — especially with the Yankees playing close, low-scoring games as they chase the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.
Headrick told Chris Kirschner of The Athletic he is “eliminating the extra stressors outside of it as much as possible. All of my workload is coming from the game. But I’m still able to be built up and go out there with as close to the best version of myself as I can.”
Headrick is on pace for more than 80 regular-season appearances, something no Yankees pitcher has done since Boone Logan in 2012.
“It’s crazy to think about how many appearances it’s been,” Headrick said. “But nothing [in the past] matters. That’s all over with. Today matters, and when tomorrow comes, that’s what I’ll worry about.”
How the Yankees Bullpen May Adapt in October
Whether or not the Yankees win the AL East, they still have a 99.7% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN. So Headrick figures to be an important piece of a playoff team.
Still, reinforcements are coming, even with the deadline behind the Yankees. The 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers offered a blueprint for how New York might deploy its staff in October.
The Dodgers used starters Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell for relief appearances, though Glasnow and Snell both primarily started. Sasaki was the Dodgers’ closer during the postseason, locking down three saves and posting a 0.84 ERA in nine appearances while helping them win the World Series.
The Yankees have an abundance of starters, even with Max Fried’s recent trip to the injured list. Barring further injuries, they’ll run out a postseason rotation of Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Ryan Weathers and Carlos Rodón — a group that should be the envy of every AL team they face.
But that also means Fried, Will Warren and potentially Clarke Schmidt could be available to get outs out of the bullpen in October. Fried is an especially intriguing option since he won’t be stretched out to start, and he went on the IL after allowing just two runs in his previous 16 2/3 innings.
Unlike the Dodgers, who were tied for 20th in the majors in bullpen ERA last year, the Yankees’ bullpen has been elite this season.
New York ranks second in MLB in bullpen ERA (3.02), behind only the Boston Red Sox. Adding Fried, Schmidt and Warren to Headrick, Fernando Cruz, Paul Blackburn and closer David Bednar would only strengthen a relief corps that has excelled all year.
Yankees Sound Alarm on Reliever’s Heavy Workload