No it is not Jacob deGrom, or Cole Hamels, or J.A. Happ. No the Yankees still haven't addressed the biggest issue facing them for the rest of this season. But the team did bolster its bullpen by acquiring Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton for minor league prospects Dillon Tate, Josh Rogers and Cody Carroll -- meaning the Yankees didn't have to deal any of its top prospects to make the trade happen. That is a huge plus.
If anything adding Britton to the bullpen keeps him away from the Red Sox, Astros and Mariners who are all bullpen starved at this point in the year. Britton can now slot into a Yankee bullpen that is already deep and is already considered by some to be the best in Major League Baseball.
Britton has been pretty solid this year for an Orioles team that is among the worst in baseball to date. His 3.45 ERA was sixth best on the team, and he only pitched in 16 games this season. Now Britton joins a bullpen that has an ERA of 2.28 and over 400 strikeouts. Not a bad consultation. There is no pressure on Britton. He just needs to fit in and pitch well when his number is called.
The Yankees already have guys like Jonathan Holder, Dellin Betances and Chad Green who have all been pitching well. David Robertson, once a closer for this franchise and the Chicago White Sox has been pretty good of late, allowing only one earned run this month.
Of course Aroldis Chapman anchors this pen with his 68 strikeouts, 2.03 ERA and 26 saves.
As Chapman, himself, said to reporters, "When you bring somebody like him in, it gives you the opportunity to rotate and divide work."
So true, and another reason why the Yankees will be so dangerous come October.
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