There is the potential for Carlos Lagrange to become a Mariano Rivera, Joba Chamberlain or Michael King-level call-up for the New York Yankees this season.
But the conversion from starter to impact high-leverage reliever isn’t yet complete, according to Yankees brass.
Lagrange continues to make progress in his transition to the bullpen in Triple-A, but he still isn’t quite ready to take his show to the majors, according to The Athletic.
Lagrange, the 23-year-old, 6-7 and 248-pound Dominican-born right-hander, is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 12 1/3 innings over five games as a reliever. With a 100-plus-mph fastball, he is harkening memories of Chamberlain, who took New York by storm as a late-inning reliever in 2007.
The Yankees are Navigating Carlos Lagrange’s Bullpen Transition
GettyCarlos Lagrange could be called up as a high-leverage reliever for the Yankees’ stretch drive.
The Yankees believe Lagrange has all the stuff and tools to be an impact reliever, but there is more to that transition than just throwing strikes and hitting 100 on a radar gun.
“It’s been really, really positive,” Yankees director of pitching Sam Briend told The Athletic. “We’ve got a couple more weeks of this transition period here. Just trying to do the right thing by the kid and make sure he’s really prepared and bouncing back well in the bullpen role.”
Lagrange still hasn’t thrown in consecutive days in Triple-A with Scranton/Wilkes Barre. Part of that is due to the fact he has thrown multiple innings in four of his five outings, and faced 10-plus hitters in three of those relief appearances.
“Moving into the reliever role, you’ve got to be able to handle back-to-backs,” Briend said. “That’s not something he’s ever done in his career. We’ve got to make sure that he can handle that and bounce back. He knows how to prepare for that.”
So helping Lagrange adjust his routine is a big part of the Yankees’ treating the young reliver properly before throwing him onto the mound in the Bronx.
“You’ve always done a lighter-touch bullpen and then a bigger bullpen,” Briend said. “But going to the ‘pen, figuring that stuff out, I think he’s a little tired by the density, which is kind of what you would expect in that transition. So it’s just really figuring out that routine.”
The Yankees may View Carlos LaGrange as a Trade Deadline-Like Acquisition
GettyCamilo Doval has struggled mightily since joining the Yankees last season
Lagrange’s triple-digit fastball and wipeout slider would play in the majors any season. But the Yankees are also transitioning the prospect out of necessity.
It’s no secret New York is shopping for bullpen help at the trade deadline, and if prices stay high, Lagrange could be considered a back-end supplement to closer David Bednar.
The Yankees have the fourth-best bullpen ERA (3.35) this season, and Bednar has 16 saves and a majors-leading 30 games finished. But the setup men around him have been iffy, since 2025 deadline acquisitions Camilo Doval (5.10 ERA in 34 games) and Jake Bird (4.88 ERA in 29 games) have struggled.
Plus, as Yankees fans saw with Chamberlain or when Rivera was called up as a high-leverage setup man in 1995, a young flame thrower can incite crowds. That could bring extra energy to the Bronx over the final two months of the season.
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