The New York Yankees are a franchise filled with big names.
The legends of yesteryear need no introductions, and neither do many of this season’s superstars. Think guys like Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and even Ben Rice. At this point, everyone knows them.
That’s not the case for one of the most important pitchers the Yankees have, though: Paul Blackburn.
An unheralded relief pitcher is one of the most important parts of the roster in the Bronx.
In fact, there may not be a relief pitcher more crucial in the American League despite a lack of fanfare.
“At this point, he may be the most underrated reliever in the American League,” writes Conor Liguori of The Sporting News.
The 32-year old Blackburn is having a phenomenal season. He’s 7-2 in 54 appearances (two starts) with a 1.62 ERA.
If this keeps up, it’ll be be far the best ERA of Blackburn’s MLB career. He’s striking out 7.4 batters per nine and walking 3.2 per nine, which isn’t some exceptional ratio.
Despite that, Blackburn keeps getting outs.
Paul Blackburn has suddenly become the go-to guy in pivotal situations prior to the ninth inning, both because he hasn’t allowed an earned run across his last 15 appearances and because Fernando Cruz is done for the year,” Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller wrote in a recent article. “If he continues compiling holds while the big four starters remain healthy, it’s going to be hard to pick against the Yankees, at least until the World Series.”
Where Did Paul Blackburn Come From?
The Mets discarded Blackburn midway through the 2025 season because he had a 6.85 ERA in seven MLB appearances for the Yankees’ crosstown rival.
The Yanks picked him up, but even then, his ERA was 5.28 in eight outings. No one saw this coming.
Somehow, Blackburn has turned into a standout reliever without the peripheral stats to match. He’s just on the best pitching run of his life.
Paul Blackburn Career Timeline
Blackburn is 32 years old now, but he was once upon a time a first-round pick. That’s where the Chicago Cubs took him in the 2012 MLB Draft out of a California high school — although to be fair, it was the No. 56 pick, still known as the first round in those days.
Blackburn’s MLB debut didn’t come until 2017 with the Oakland Athletics, and he spent parts of eight seasons with the A’s.
That included an All-Star nod with a strong start in the 2022 season, but Blackburn’s overall ERA with Oakland was 4.83 (81 appearances, including 77 starts).
Blackburn was shipped to the Mets midway through 2024 and stayed there about a calendar year before his subsequent move to the Yankees.
There’s no telling whether Blackburn will last a long time in the Bronx. It’s hard to look at his numbers this season and not at least wonder whether they’re a fluke.
But for now, Blackburn is putting up one of the most unsung seasons in baseball. The Yankees sure are glad that he’s doing it in pinstripes.
Yankees Have ‘Most Underrated Reliever in the American League’