The Yankees’ batting almost completely stalled (with the exception of Aaron Judge) which left the pitching staff with way too much weight to carry. Sadly the starters also hit a slump and in the Division series they were swept aside.

Very, very easily indeed.

Only a couple of the relievers (one of them amazingly being Devin Williams) and one starter were up to the task and this left the Yankees all at sea.

Let’s see who were the ones who fell apart and who stood up to the task:

Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP
Tim Hill rp	1	0	0.00	3	0	1	0	0	3.0	1	0	0	0	1	0.33
Devin Williams rp	1	0	0.00	4	0	0	0	0	4.0	3	0	0	2	4	1.25
Cam Schlittler sp	1	1	1.25	2	2	0	0	0	14.1	13	4	2	0	14	0.91
David Bednar rp	0	0	1.50	5	0	4	0	2	6.0	3	1	1	0	1	0.67
Fernando Cruz rp	0	0	2.45	4	0	0	0	0	3.2	3	1	1	2	4	1.36
Camilo Doval rp	0	0	2.70	3	0	o	0	0	3.1	3	1	1	0	1	0.90
Max Fried sp	0	1	6.75	2	2	0	0	0	9.1	12	7	7	5	7	1.82
Luis Gil sp	0	1	6.75	1	1	0	0	0	2.2	4	2	2	0	2	1.50
Carlos Rodon sp	0	0	9.72	2	2	0	0	0	8.1	10	9	9	5	6	1.80
Will Warren sp	0	0	11.57	1	0	0	0	0	4.2	7	6	6	1	4	1.71
Paul Blackburn rp	0	0	27.00	1	0	1	0	0	1.1	6	4	4	0	0	4.50
Luke Weaver rp	0	1	135.00	3	0	1	0	0	0.1	4	5	5	2	0	18.00
Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP

Starters:

Amongst the 4 pitchers who started games, there was only rookie Cam Schlittler who was able to keep the Yankees in the game. Indeed, he took a win (and a loss) and achieved an exemplary 1.25 ERA with a 0.91 WHIP. At times during the regular season, he over-relied on his fastball, but now he was exactly what the Yankees needed. Confused batters struggled and it led to 14 strikeouts in 14.1 innings – and no walks given up. I wonder if he can reproduce this form in 2026.

Carlos Rodon, very surprisingly, was the weakest of the starting rotation after a very good season. An ERA of 9.72 and a 1.80 WHIP, 10 hits and 5 walks. There was nothing good here.

Luis Gil made only one start, but in truth was little better than Rodon. He lasted only 2.2 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs. This left him with a loss in that game, a 6.75 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

A similar ERA and a worse WHIP cast a huge shadow over the very strong season that Max Fried had given the Yankees. Two starts during which he 12 hits and 5 walks. The Yankees must have been wondering where there help was going to come from.

Relievers

Well, there was some help fom the bullpen but unhappily not enough. As previously mentioned, part of this came in the unlikely form of Devin Williams. Williams was no longer considered when it came to assessing who was best suited to act as a closer, but as the 8th inning man he overcame a lot of the problems he has faced. On one level, this might have left the Yankees considering whether to re-sign him for 2026 but on the other hand were his terrible performances as a closer and the 1.25 WHIP which revealed that he is more of an escape artist than a dominating pitcher. Cashman and cohorts will probably be happy to see him go elsewhere now that he is a free agent.

Predictably strong was Tim Hill with his quirky delivery. Giving up no walks and only one hit, he took a win in one of the games he played in, pitching 3 innings and producing a 0.00 ERA and a 0.33 WHIP. Now, there is someone they should be pushing to re-sign.

Next in our list of those who has a great time of it (and it is a short list) is the closer, David Bednar. He pitched 6.0 innings across 5 of these games, gathering in 2 saves. He is the best reason that the Yankees have for not needing Williams next year. 1.50 ERA and 0.67 WHIP. There were few shortcomings to identify here.

The worst of the Yankees relievers in these short series was Luke Weaver. Weaver keeps trying to rebuild his career but he is either very good or very bad, and this time it was the turn of the bad to come to the fore. He played in 3 games and only produced 1 out in that aggregate, resulting in a 135.00 ERA and a 18.00 WHIP. Sadly, he is almost certain to be another who be looking to sign elsewhere in 2026.

Paul Blackburn was used very sparingly and his 27.00 ERA speaks volumes. Will Warren worked out of the bullpen and it didn’t suit him. He produced a 11.57 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. Once players have returned from injury next season, this might leave him very well down the list of starters that the Yankees might call on.

Camilo Doval was solid. Playing in 3 games, his 0.90 WHIP was commendable. He gave up 3 hits in 3.1 innings. He seems to have been a good mid-season acquisition for the Yankees.

Fernando Cruz gave up more hits and walks in total than Doval and needs to develop more consistency.

Ryan Yarbrough did not play in the playoffs.