Clay Holmes was one of baseball's best closers for the first six weeks of the season. The right-hander didn't allow an earned run in his first 20 appearances for the New York Yankees. He gave up runs in just two of his first 30 games. He was a stable presence where stability is paramount.
That seems like a very long time ago.
A summer of disappointing results culminated in Holmes losing the closer job after giving up a walk-off grand slam in a loss to the Texas Rangers earlier this month.
Every front office's goal is to assemble a lights-out relief corps with fixed roles and late-inning dominance heading into the postseason. But relievers -- and, therefore, bullpens -- can be volatile. Only a few clubs manage to achieve that goal.
With less than two weeks left in the 2024 season, the Yankees aren't one of them. Manager Aaron Boone has not designated a closer as his team continues batting for the American League East title. Boone said the club is taking a "creative" approach for the game's final outs.
"In a perfect world, I guess maybe you have [set roles]," Boone said. "But that's not always the reality. The reality I'm dealing with is I feel like we have really good pitchers down there and my job, our job, is to get them in the best positions to hopefully impact us winning games."
This year, the list of top bullpens includes the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves. All but the Braves, who are fighting for the final National League wild card, are a virtual lock to reach the postseason (the Brewers clinched the NL Central title Wednesday). Each features a sturdy bridge to an elite closer.
Then there are teams with championship aspirations and no such arrangement. The Yankees are one, as are the Baltimore Orioles, their AL East rivals, and the Kansas City Royals, a team they might encounter in the division series. In Queens, the New York Mets' relief corps is peaking after a midseason overhaul and Edwin Díaz's return to previous form, but for much of the season it has been an Achilles' heel.
Teams without premium bullpens have made deep October runs and won championships. Relievers can get hot, and they can fall apart. Then there's usage. The postseason schedule allows clubs to deploy pitchers more aggressively. Utilizing starters as relievers and relying on just a few relievers in tight games has become common. But carrying a dominant bullpen into the postseason is always preferable.
Here's a closer look at some of those bullpens with question marks as October looms -- and what some of the answers might be.
New York Yankees
Key issue(s): Relievers prefer knowing their roles. It allows them to better prepare -- whether for a specific inning or for a pocket of hitters. Not having a full-time closer changes that dynamic for a few pitchers. And in the Yankees' case, it requires their manager to press the right buttons in fluid situations.
How it's been going lately: The closer-by-committee has been a success so far. New York's 1.16 bullpen ERA since Sept. 6, the day Holmes was removed as closer, is the best in the majors. Holmes has continued pitching late in close games, but Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver have been assigned the save opportunities.
Kahnle's devastating changeup renders him the preferred option against left-handed hitters. Weaver, a former starter enjoying a breakout season, provides an invaluable ability to absorb multiple innings. On Friday, Weaver took the ball in the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox to protect a one-run lead after Aaron Judge's go-ahead grand slam in the seventh.
Weaver pitched around a single in a scoreless eighth inning before he was sent out for the ninth with a predetermined three-batter limit. Boone had left-hander Tim Hill warming to pitch to Jarren Duran, Boston's All-Star left-handed-hitting outfielder, who was due up fourth. Weaver rendered that plan moot by retiring the side in order with an emphatic strikeout to end the game.
"It's different, right?" Weaver said about the Yankees' bullpen strategy. "Roles are a big thing within our game. It brings some normalcy. It brings some prediction to it. And that can be a great thing. Sometimes it can shut you down in different areas of the game where it's like, 'Hey, we're good. We got this guy going.' But I think right now the mindset isn't necessarily about roles anymore. It's just about [the] next guy up."
Will Holmes and Mark Leiter Jr. rebound? The Yankees combed through the trade market for swing-and-miss relievers before the July 30 deadline. They landed on two: Enyel De Los Santos and Mark Leiter Jr. De Los Santos posted a 14.21 ERA in five appearances and was designated for assignment after two weeks. Leiter arrived with a high whiff rate thanks to an elite splitter and despite his sinker averaging just 91.3 mph, but he has a 6.35 ERA in 17 appearances as a Yankee. Getting him and Holmes back on track would deepen a bullpen that should be bolstered by the addition of a starter or two in the postseason -- such as Marcus Stroman, who posted his first save in 10 years on Tuesday night in Seattle.
Kansas City Royals
Key issue(s): Like the Yankees, the Royals don't have a traditional overpowering bullpen with a fixed closer and a solidified bridge to him. Unlike the Yankees, the Royals' relief corps hasn't been dominant recently.
How it's been going lately: Lucas Erceg, a hard-throwing right-hander acquired from the Oakland Athletics at the trade deadline, has allowed seven runs with 25 strikeouts and two walks across 20⅓ innings since joining the team. The converted infielder -- Erceg has pitched full time only since 2021 -- is most often chosen to pitch the ninth inning, but he has also been used for the sixth, seventh and eighth.
"I'm closing the eighth or I'm closing the ninth or closing the seventh," Erceg said. "It doesn't really matter what inning it is, what the situation is. The goal is to throw strikes, get three outs and don't let any runs score."
Carlos Hernandez (2.00 ERA) and Daniel Lynch (11 scoreless innings) have been effective since returning to the majors in late August. The rest of the group has been iffy. Injuries to Hunter Harvey, the other reliever Kansas City added at the deadline, and Will Smith haven't helped the team lay out specific roles for its bullpen members.
"I think guys respond better to it," Royals president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo said. "The hard part is getting guys that could be in that set role."
Will they win with a different formula? A decade ago, the Royals rode elite bullpens -- with shutdown relievers assigned the seventh, eighth and ninth innings -- to the World Series in back-to-back seasons. They effectively cut games to six innings, limiting the onus on their solid but unspectacular starting rotations.
After falling just short in 2014, they were the last team standing in 2015. The Royals haven't reached the postseason since -- a drought that this year's team is poised to end with a remarkable turnaround from a 106-loss campaign in 2023. This time, their strength is in the starting rotation. The Royals' relievers will need to be ready for anything.
"If you got guys that can strike guys out and have power, you're not worried about righty, lefty or what the matchup or what the numbers say," Picollo said. "Most bullpens don't have that luxury. I know since [2015] a lot of teams have somewhat tried to replicate it or come close to replicating it. Our preference would be that. But when we don't have that, you got to figure out how to get through the last nine outs of the game. In our case, it's more [about the] matchup than just power."
Baltimore Orioles
Key issue(s): The Orioles signed Craig Kimbrel to a one-year, $13 million contract to replace the injured Felix Bautista as closer. The move turned out to be such a disaster that the team designated Kimbrel for assignment Wednesday, leaving the team with even more questions at the back end of the bullpen.
How it's been going lately: Kimbrel entered July 14 with a 2.10 ERA across 34⅓ innings. He converted 23 saves in 27 chances. The veteran right-hander allowed earned runs in six of his 38 appearances. Four of those appearances occurred in a five-outing stretch between late April and early May when Kimbrel was temporarily removed from the closer's role before rebounding to compile a 0.43 ERA over 22 appearances between May 10 and July 7. His effectiveness correlated with team success; the Orioles were atop the AL East with a 58-38 record at the All-Star break.
Since then, Baltimore is 26-39 and Kimbrel, who is fifth on the career saves list, has fallen off a cliff. The nine-time All-Star recorded an 11.50 ERA over 18 innings since July 14. He yielded runs in 11 of 19 outings. He posted 21 strikeouts against 17 walks, while opponents stole 11 bases. He didn't record a clean inning after Aug. 28.
Relegated to mop-up duty Tuesday after a seven-day hiatus, Kimbrel reached his nadir, giving up a career-high six runs in two-thirds of an inning in a 10-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants. That's one run fewer than Kimbrel gave up in 62⅔ innings in 2012.
"I was hoping he could just get out of the inning, and unfortunately, there was some fatigue there at the end," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters. "The velo started getting down a little bit. Normally, he's not out there for that long. In that type of game, I just didn't want to use anybody else at that point."
Kimbrel has stumbled before. The Red Sox had to work around his severe command issues, demoting him from his closer role by the end of their World Series run in 2018. He then registered a 6.00 ERA over the next two seasons for the Chicago Cubs. In 2022, he failed to make the Los Angeles Dodgers' postseason roster. Last year, he cost the Philadelphia Phillies two pivotal games in the NLCS.
But none of those organizations designated him for assignment. The Orioles did. The question now: Will we ever see Kimbrel close games again?
What happens next? Kimbrel's struggles were only part of the bullpen's shortcomings. A spate of injuries to starters, which taxed the bullpen, didn't help, either.
Yennier Cano (2.78 ERA in 64 games), Jacob Webb (3.20 ERA in 54 games) and lefty Keegan Akin (3.27 ERA in 61 games) have been solid contributors all season, but the Orioles' front office determined upgrades were necessary. The Orioles attempted to supplement the bullpen at the trade deadline by acquiring hard throwers Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto from the Phillies to duplicate the back of the 2023 Philadelphia bullpen, which also included Kimbrel.
Soto got off to a dreadful start with his new club, allowing four runs in two of his first three outings. Since then, he has held opponents to two earned runs in 12⅓ innings over 14 games. He has improved by issuing just three walks in 12⅓ innings after 23 walks in his first 36⅔ innings this season.
Domínguez, meanwhile, replaced Kimbrel as closer last month. He promptly surrendered two walk-off home runs in three days against the Mets.
"From whenever the starter comes out until the end of the game," Hyde said during that series, "we're searching for outs."
Domínguez has posted a 3.26 ERA for Baltimore, giving up runs in six of his 20 games and allowing six home runs with 26 strikeouts, 4 walks and 9 saves.
Overall, though, the bullpen's collective 5.02 ERA since Aug. 1 is 28th in baseball.
New York Mets
Key issue(s): The bullpen was a glaring weakness for the Mets before a midseason overhaul and Díaz's recent return to All-Star form. It's now a strength. But will the bullpen keep it up -- and is it good enough for a World Series run?
How it's been going lately: Through July 30, the day of the trade deadline, the bullpen's 4.13 ERA ranked 20th and its win probability added was 21st, despite the highest strikeout rate in baseball. Between June 23 and the All-Star break, the relief corps posted a combined 7.17 ERA. It was an ineffective unit, at best. Since July 31, the Mets' 3.37 bullpen ERA is third in the majors, while their relievers' win probability added is tied for fifth with MLB's second-highest strikeout rate.
The improvement stems from an in-season transformation. Díaz and Adam Ottavino are the two bullpen holdovers from the Mets' Opening Day roster. José Buttó, Reed Garrett and Danny Young began the season in Triple-A. Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek and Huascar Brazoban were acquired in trades over a three-week stretch in July. Alex Young was added through the waiver wire. Dedniel Núñez, who started the season in the minors, was a revelation until he was recently lost for the season with an arm injury.
Only Díaz remains in his Day 1 role.
But Díaz's return after missing last season with a torn ACL was a trainwreck for the first half. He pitched so poorly in May he briefly lost the closer job while the Mets' season seemingly spiraled out of control. He ended the month on the injured list with a shoulder impingement. A month later, he was suspended 10 games for a sticky stuff violation. All along, he just wasn't overpowering hitters the way he did during his elite 2022 season.
That has changed. Díaz has resembled his former dominant self since giving up a grand slam to Corbin Carroll in a brutal Aug. 29 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has held opponents to one run -- in a hiccup against the Phillies on Sunday -- over nine innings in his past 10 appearances. The improvement stems from increased fastball velocity, which topped out at 100.8 mph last week after hovering in the mid-to-high 90s all summer.
"Since I came back from the shoulder impingement, I've been feeling really good," Díaz said. "Just keep building my confidence. After that game in Arizona, I knew it was something about my mechanics. I just fixed it and then I came back and I've been throwing the ball really good."
Will they keep it up? The bullpen has been bolstered by the starting rotation's own second-half turnaround. Starters frequently pitching deeper into games has allowed for a more rested bullpen. And more help could be on the way: Ace Kodai Senga might return from injury next week in an abbreviated starter role, perhaps pushing Jose Quintana to the bullpen.
"We have a lot of confidence in our group right now," Maton said. "I think at this point we can't really worry too much about comparing ourselves to others. I think the task at hand right now is to try to put up as many zeroes as possible and win the games that we need to win."
The bullpen's diverse composition offers a variety of looks and approaches, which bodes well for games down the stretch and into the postseason. But the unheralded group is, for the most part, unproven in October. Sustaining the success when it matters most could be the difference for the Mets.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Key issue(s): Like the Yankees and the Royals, the Dodgers don't have a designated closer. Unlike the Yankees and the Royals, the Dodgers haven't had a robust selection of healthy starting pitchers to eat quality innings. An endless string of injuries to starters has placed a significant burden on the bullpen, which could prove costly as the innings pile up into October.
How it's been going lately: Early in the season it was the Dodgers' bullpen, not the starting rotation, that was dealing with a flood of injuries. Brusdar Graterol, Blake Treinen, Ryan Brasier, Evan Phillips, Joe Kelly and Michael Grove all landed on the injured list for various periods.
Along the way, Phillips struggled enough when healthy to lose his job as closer and he hasn't reclaimed it. Instead, the Dodgers are playing the matchups for the ninth inning with Phillips, Daniel Hudson and Michael Kopech mostly splitting the closer duties.
Kopech has been a tremendous boost since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline. The hard-throwing right-hander has given up two runs over 19 innings (0.95 ERA) with 24 strikeouts as a Dodger after recording a 4.74 ERA in 43 appearances for Chicago. Kopech has credited throwing his elite fastball less and his secondary pitches more often with Los Angeles as a factor in his improvement.
Recently losing left-hander Anthony Banda with a fractured hand was a blow, but fellow southpaw Alex Vesia (1.15 ERA), Treinen (0.68), Brasier (2.92), and Phillips (3.06) have been good to great in important roles since the trade deadline.
Will they piece it together well enough? The Dodgers haven't been afraid to deploy pitchers in unorthodox ways in the playoffs. They've used openers, they've used starters in the middle innings of tight games, they've used starters to close games. They push boundaries.
This year, they might not have a choice. At this point, the Dodgers might just have to piece together games in October, with so many injuries and subpar performances among their starting pitchers -- an implausible outcome for a team that expected to have too many rotation options at the beginning of the season.
Shohei Ohtani was never one of them. The NL MVP front-runner wasn't expected to pitch at all this season after undergoing elbow surgery a year ago. But Roberts recently cracked the door open for Ohtani to pitch out of the bullpen should the Dodgers advance deep into October. Ohtani's return to pitching would certainly provide a dramatic end to a historic season. But the Dodgers have to get that far first.
"I feel confident," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday of his relief corps. "How they're going to slot in, I don't know that answer right now. Given where we're at with starters, I think they're all going to get counted on in different roles, innings, lanes, whatever you want to classify it. ... We still don't have the final spots, but with the guys that we have and the guys we're certain we're going to have, I feel really good."
Arizona Diamondbacks
Key issue(s): Arizona's bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball this season, and it isn't getting better.
How it's been going lately: Arizona's 4.93 bullpen ERA since Aug. 1 is better than those of four teams: the Athletics, Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates and Red Sox. From that group, only the Orioles are headed to the postseason. The bullpen's win probability added in that span is 23rd in the majors. The unit has been the weakest link on a team vying for a second straight World Series appearance.
The latest setback came Monday in a walk-off loss to the Colorado Rockies, when Kevin Ginkel squandered a one-run lead. Ginkel, who was instrumental in Arizona's unlikely run last season, has surrendered eight earned runs in 4⅔ innings this month.
The Diamondbacks were one of several contenders who attempted to fortify their bullpen at the trade deadline, landing A.J. Puk and Dylan Floro. Puk has been dominant, posting a 0.41 ERA with 24 strikeouts and four walks in 24 appearances. Floro, however, was designated for assignment Sunday after giving up 17 runs in 16⅓ innings (9.37 ERA).
Rookie Justin Martinez's emergence has been crucial -- his 2.43 ERA leads the team -- but the hard-throwing righty has 34 walks in 66⅔ innings and has shown signs of fatigue over the lpast month. Meanwhile, Paul Sewald, another important member of last season's bullpen, has had a forgettable 2024 and is back on the injured list with neck discomfort.
Can the bullpen replicate last October's magic? The Diamondbacks' bullpen wasn't one of the best in baseball during the regular season last year, either -- it ranked 18th in ERA in the majors -- but it got hot at the right time and helped fuel a Fall Classic appearance. The numbers -- and Sewald's unclear status -- indicate this iteration isn't as good, but history suggests a turnaround is possible. The D-backs will need one.
-- ESPN's Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.