Tim Hill’s usage highlights Yankees’ need for another lefty reliever



With the injury bug devouring the Yankees’ bullpen, Tim Hill is working a lot more these days.

The side-arming southpaw has pitched in 48 games this season. As of Thursday, an off day for the Yankees, that was the third-highest total in all of baseball behind several relievers with 49 appearances and San Francisco’s Tyler Rogers, who had pitched in an MLB-leading 50 games.

While Hill has been sharp, recording a 2.54 ERA and the third-best groundball rate in baseball, his workload and transformation into more of a high-leverage reliever has highlighted the Yankees’ need for another lefty in their bullpen.

“It would be helpful,” Matt Blake told the Daily News with the July 31 trade deadline approaching. Then again, the pitching coach also said that “bodies, in particular, would be helpful” for a bullpen that is missing Fernando Cruz, Mark Leiter Jr., Yerry De los Santos and Jake Cousins, who underwent Tommy John surgery and won’t return this season.

“We’re pretty thin now,” Aaron Boone said Wednesday as he discussed why he can’t limit the struggling Jonathan Loáisiga to low-leverage situations.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has also made it known that his team could use multiple relievers before the deadline, in addition to a third baseman and rotation help. In a perfect world, one would be a left-hander to pair with Hill.

“Ideally, you go out and get a really good lefty to complement him,” Blake said, “but we’ll see what’s out there in the market.”

While the Yankees often add unexpected names to their bullpen before the deadline, a few intriguing pitchers include the Angels’ Reid Detmers and the Braves’ Dylan Lee, who were among the top-10 qualified left-handed relievers in K%.

The Royals’ Angel Zerpa, meanwhile, had the best groundball rate of any lefty reliever, beating out Hill. The Braves’ Aaron Bummer and the Diamondbacks’ Jalen Beeks were also among the 12-highest groundball rates.

Danny Coulombe is another name to keep an eye on, as the impending free agent has been excellent for the Twins, posting a 0.93 ERA over 29 innings.

Should the Yankees fail to acquire a lefty reliever, Blake said that Ryan Yarbrough, another injured pitcher, could become an internal option, though that would cut into the team’s limited rotation depth.

Signed as a swingman at the end of spring training, Yarbrough shined as a rotation replacement before suffering an oblique strain. He’s begun throwing, but his rehab program has yet to include working off the mound.

“Yarbrough can be multi-inning or a tough lefty matchup in the fourth, fifth or sixth [innings],” Blake said, noting that Hill would remain the high-leverage option later in games.

Cruz, meanwhile, has started to throw, but Boone said the strikeout-heavy righty will build up slowly, as his own oblique injury is not fully healed. An unspecified August return has been floated as a possibility.

Leiter, another righty, is expected to be re-imaged in New York this week after suffering a leg fracture.

Finally, the right-handed De los Santos should be an option for the Yankees soon now that he’s begun a rehab assignment.



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