TAMPA — As Fernando Cruz stumbled through his first spring training with the Yankees, the reliever experimented with just about everything a pitcher can.
That included the righty’s arsenal, where he stands on the mound, his mechanics, and whether long sleeves could prevent tipping. However, Cruz’s biggest change was learning to stay under control on the mound.
That adjustment was inspired by a conversation with bullpen coach Mike Harkey.
“He just talks to me straight up and doesn’t hide anything. He doesn’t go through emotions and anything. He just tells you what you’re doing and exactly what you need to get ready,” Cruz said. “We had a conversation in spring training that changed everything. We talked about the intent, the effort level when I was throwing, and I think that was the most important change mentally.”
Now Cruz, acquired from the Reds over the offseason, is feeling confident in all his pitches, as the 35-year-old has a 2.53 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 10.2 innings this season after logging 4.1 scoreless frames this week. That includes a two-inning save on April 16.
However, Cruz’s signature splitter remains his go-to. There’s good reason for that.
“From behind, it’s just the swings that make it look nasty,” Anthony Volpe said after Cruz struck out two over a scoreless inning in Friday’s 1-0 win over the Rays. “But I faced him in the spring, and it doesn’t even make sense. You feel like you’re right on it, and you watch the video and you swing and it’s like halfway there.”
“I’ve never seen that many bad swings from good hitters,” Aaron Boone added. “It looks like they’ve never hit before, sometimes, when he executes it.”
Nasty ‘Nando 👊 pic.twitter.com/lQdJMJJoj5
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 19, 2025
Carlos Rodón, who started Friday’s game, referred to Cruz’s splitter as a “glitch pitch,” parroting a phrase that Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake used in spring training. However, Rodón noted that the right-handed Cruz is not a one-trick pony.
“It’s just the arm speed and the way it comes out,” Rodón said, speaking of the splitter. “It’s just so hard to make a decision on that pitch the way it floats in. They’re not so sure. I mean, it’s such a nasty pitch. And then he’s got 94, 95 to pair with it. That’s just a deadly combination that he features.”
Cruz’s repertoire also includes a slider and a sinker — he’s scrapped a cutter — but his splitter has been his most-used pitch by far since he debuted in 2022. Benny Cepeda, a Puerto Rican Winter League teammate, taught Cruz his splitter in 2012.
Now Cruz, originally drafted as a shortstop by the Royals in 2007, calls his splitter “my gift from God.” He’s especially grateful for it, as the offering helped him escape a long stretch of exclusively pitching in foreign and independent leagues.
“I know it looks different than other swings and stuff,” said Cruz, who dreamed of playing for the Yankees as a kid growing up in Puerto Rico. “But it makes me really happy, because it just confirms that it’s a gift that I have.”
It’s also a gift that the Yankees have.
That may not have been immediately clear in spring training, as Cruz recorded a 9.95 ERA for his brand-new team. Worrying wasn’t unreasonable, even as he tinkered.
“We didn’t know him yet, so we’re like, ‘Alright, let’s start working through those things now,’” Boone said. “And he sure has. He’s been excellent for us.”
That he has.
“I was going through a lot in spring training, but it was a process that I embraced,” Cruz said. “And now it’s paying off.”
