As the bullpen begins to disintegrate before our very eyes, the New York Yankees now have their eye on an underrated lefty.
The starting rotation is starting to really take shape for the New York Yankees this offseason. But how about the crew that will be finishing off the games for the Bombers?
According to Dan Martin of The New York Post, the Yankees have been checking in on an important bullpen piece in free agent Aaron Loup.
The 31-year-old lefty has spent the majority of his major-league career in Toronto before he was traded in July of this past season to Philadelphia. Loup’s sidearm delivery is one of his unique features that helps confuse batters as they step up to the plate.
Loup didn’t have an impressive season, split between two teams, in 2018. However, he would bring a valuable lefty presence to the ‘pen, something they’ve been severely lacking since Andrew Miller was shipped off to Cleveland.
Loup, however, has always been pretty solid against lefties, as referenced by holding lefty batters to a .678 OPS during the 2018 season.
Perhaps the stat that the Yankees are most impressed with is his performance at Fenway Park. Playing in the AL East has given him the opportunity to face off against the Boston Red Sox and he’s done quite well for himself over his career.
While he has a lifetime 3.02 ERA against the Sox, he has pitched 24 games at Fenway Park and has a career 1.93 ERA in 23.1 innings of work.
[membership level="0"] [/membership]For a Yankees team that needs an advantage over the talented Red Sox team that will be thrown on the field in 2019, Loup could be it. His familiarity with the AL East will be a great selling point, just like it was for J.A. Happ.
While there are other bullpen names on the market, Loup seems pretty appealing. A former AL East opponent often makes for a good Bronx Bomber.