Adam Ottavino brings a whole new dynamic to Yankees’ bullpen

Well if the Yankees aren’t going to win the World Series next season, it most likely won’t be the bullpen’s fault. The Yankees bolstered an already stacked bullpen with the signing of Adam Ottavino. Ottavino signed a 3 year, $27M deal with the Yanks, and essentially replaces David Robertson.

As confusing as this move may seem considering the Yankees already have one of the best bullpens in baseball, in this day & age it’s never a bad idea to have even more good arms backing your starters. There are many impacts this signing has on the Yankees, with three sticking out.

It lengthens the bullpen

The most obvious point that makes this signing great is that it lengthens the bullpen. Whether it be Ottavino in the 6th, 7th, 8th, or even 9th it allows the Yanks to use their bullpen any way they please.

A strong bullpen is essential in baseball due to the lack of innings starting pitchers go nowadays. Someone like CC Sabathia is going to benefit greatly from this signing, as he won’t need to labor through innings because Aaron Boone doesn’t trust his bullpen.

It makes them playoff ready

In case you haven’t noticed over the past few years, the Yankees have had to rely on their bullpen many times over the past few offseasons. You can have as many aces as you want, but when it comes to crunch time it’s the bullpen that will win you a World Series.

Ottavino is playoff tested and had plenty of experience with the Colorado Rockies. The Yankees have had Luis Severino as their starter in the Wild Card Game the past two seasons. He hasn’t made in past the fourth inning in either and the Bombers relied on their strong bullpen to get through. If you don’t think Ottavino will be pitching in a big spot, you’re sorely mistaken.

It makes Chad Green the X factor

Yankee fans have heard this all before. That Chad Green would be used as a weapon out of the bullpen. He pitched decently but never really got off the ground.

Now that Adam Ottavino is in the picture, Green may actually be used to the best of his abilities. Green can pitch a few innings, spot start, hold, close, and everything in between. When one of the Yankees starters get hurt, Green can fill right in.

It’s invaluable because there will obviously be some injuries and not having to bring up Luis Cessa will do wonders for this team. Having a loaded bullpen will make weeks like that bearable.

Are the Yankees perfect? Absolutely not, but a move like this will make them an even more formidable team in the postseason. Adam Ottavino is as good as it gets on the back end. As long as he can handle the bright lights of New York, he’ll be money. It’s a tall task but a great signing by the Yankees.