With the New York Yankees addressing their need at first base with Paul Goldschmidt, the stove has gone from red-hot to ice-cold for Brian Cashman, who has spent $64 million through numerous trades and signings. Their work isn’t done yet, as according to Jon Heyman, they’re still involved in the bullpen market with left-handed veteran relievers Andrew Chafin and Tim Hill being at the top of their list of free agent targets. While the bullpen is a strength for the Yankees right now, they have some redundancy due to the flurry of right-handed arms in that group.
Hill, who spent last year with the Yankees as an unsung hero, is the fan-favorite incumbent option, but Chafin brings a veteran arm as well as he posted a 3.51 ERA and 28.5% strikeout rate in his age-34 season with the Tigers and Rangers.
Tim Hill and Andrew Chafin Garnering Interest From Yankees
It’s easy to see why the Yankees would want Tim Hill back, who served an extremely valuable role in the Yankees’ bullpen as their primary lefty with a strong sinker and excellent groundball numbers. While he had just a 10.7% strikeout rate between Chicago and New York, he posted a 3.36 ERA and had a 68.2% groundball rate, improving his production with the Yankees mid-season.
In 35 appearances with the Bronx Bombers, Hill posted a 2.05 ERA and 69.9% groundball rate, being even better in the postseason where he was a reliable weapon for manager Aaron Boone in their biggest games. Hill posted a 1.08 ERA with a 55.6% groundball rate across 10 playoff appearances, showing off his elite sinker even though he sits at around 90-91 MPH with it.
Entering his age-35 season, he’s only a few months older than Andrew Chafin, who brings some more swing-and-miss thanks to his wicked slider.
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He posted a 3.51 ERA last season with a 28.5% strikeout rate, struggling in Texas after a strong first half with the upstart Tigers who sold at the deadline. Andrew Chafin has elite swing-and-miss numbers, running a 34.5% Whiff Rate which ranks in the 96th Percentile for pitchers. His gyro slider produced over 43 inches of vertical drop and generated a Whiff Rate north of 50% as a result, with batters slugging a measly .186 against the pitch.
Chafin’s four-seamer and sinker didn’t have the same kind of success, as his fastball velocity has sunk from 93-94 MPH in his younger years to about 91-92 MPH. He still generates a good amount of horizontal movement on his sinker and vertical movement on his fastball, but perhaps the Yankees are able to get some value out of him by finetuning his fastballs or adding to his repertoire with a cutter.
The Yankees would love to improve his groundball numbers from the last two seasons, and they might be able to by shifting his sinker locating a bit. Perhaps having him attack inside to right-handed batters and away from lefties could play up his cross-fire delivery, but that’s an adjustment that would be left up to more informed people such as Matt Blake and Sam Briend.
Second base (or third base) remains a hole on the roster for the Yankees to address as well, although suitable options to upgrade with aren’t as apparent on the market right now with the team over the fourth threshold.
