Over the past several years, the Yankees have been fantastic at constructing bullpens. For many of those years, obviously, it was made a little easier by the fact that they didn't have to worry about who was going to come into the game in the 9th inning. Last year, that changed with Mariano Rivera's retirement, but David Robertson handled the promotion to closer nicely.
My plan:
The Yankees have no real need to try to be cute here. If they offer Robertson market value, and he agrees to it, the bullpen will be largely set for 2015. They can surround him with holdovers Adam Warren, Dellin Betances, and Shawn Kelley to give them the foundation for yet another strong bullpen in 2015. While David Phelps and Bryan Mitchell may figure into a spring training competition in the rotation, neither will be considered a favorite (especially if everyone else is healthy and they bring in a free agent). Barring a trade, Phelps would slide into a bullpen role, while Mitchell would likely go back to Triple-A for depth. This would leave two openings in the bullpen, which could be filled in a few ways. They could bring back David Huff, allowing them to use the last spot for one of their talented farmhands. They could go with two farmhands. They can scour the free agent market for a diamond in the rough for additional depth as well (they have already resigned Andrew Bailey, who essentially did nothing but rehab in 2014). If left up to me, I would probably hope to bring back Huff cheaply (making him expendable if he implodes) while using a rookie such as Jacob Lindgren to round out the staff.
This would leave the Yankees with the following:
RHP Robertson
RHP Betances
RHP Warren
RHP Kelley
RHP Phelps
LHP Huff
LHP Lindgren
One name that is certainly missing is Chase Whitley - unless the Yankees decide to trade Phelps or possibly not resign Huff, Whitley will be best served as minor league depth to enter 2015.
Of course, everything does change if Robertson decides to walk. If that happens, expect the Yankees to at least inquire about free agents such as Andrew Miller and Sergio Romo. Jason Grilli may also jump onto their radar in this scenario. I don't consider any of these pitchers to be in Robertson's class, but I am also not naive enough to think that the Yankees are simply going to ignore the market if Robertson bolts.
The future:
The Yankees have built a bit of a minor-league pipeline with relief pitching, and it may finally start to bear some fruit from the left-hand side. Lindgren, Tyler Webb, and James Pazos are all legitimate left-handed relief prospects. From the right-hand side, the most ready pitchers include the erratic fireballer Danny Burawa, Nick Rumbelow, and the now-healthy Nick Goody, who may be the best overall relief prospect of them all. Any of these pitchers can easily find themselves on the major league roster in 2015, with a chance to get to the big club as early as Opening Day.
The bottom line:
The Yankees simply have a knack for finding and developing relief talent. They find it in Independent Leagues, the free agent scrap heap, through the draft, and small trades. I don't expect it to be any different going forward; they have the depth and the talent to continue to shut down the opponents. The big question will remain, however: How many leads will the offense be able to hand over to them in the first place? That is what the Yankees need to figure out, as perhaps their biggest strength is something that can't be utilized unless everyone else does their jobs.
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