Yankees' 6-foot-6 reliever handed 'very crucial' Opening Day projection

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Yankees' 6-foot-6 reliever handed 'very crucial' Opening Day projection originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New York Yankees had just one lefty reliever on their ALDS roster in 2025, something fans would have liked to see general manager Brian Cashman address during the offseason.

Ryan Yarbrough and Tim Hill are the two likely candidates to be the Yankees' two left-handed bullpen options on Opening Day. Neither are strikeout pitchers, mixing speeds and using funky arm angles to induce outs.

There is another reliever who flies under the radar despite standing 6-foot-6 and limiting hitters to a .197 batting average against his fastball in 2025. He's recorded 11 strikeouts in 5.2 innings in spring training.

Why Brent Headrick could play a 'very crucial' role for Yankees​

Bouncing back and forth from the Majors to Triple-A led to just 23 innings thrown for Brent Headrick last season. He posted a 3.13 ERA and struck out 30. FanSided's Chris Landers envisions that Headrick will play a much larger role in 2026.

"New York's lack of lefties in the bullpen is an underrated subplot this spring; there's virtually no depth beyond Tim Hill, who showed signs of decline last season," Lander wrote. "The opportunity is there for someone to earn a very crucial role on the Opening Day roster, and Headrick appears set on taking advantage of it."

At 28, Headrick has thrown just 51.2 combined innings in his career between the Yankees and Minnesota Twins. He could easily surpass that total during the upcoming season.

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