NEW YORK — Jose Trevino said he has zero concern with his diminished arm speed this season. Trevino entered Wednesday’s game with the slowest arm out of 62 catchers in MLB. Last year, Trevino’s average throw was 75 mph; this season, it’s down to 71.6 mph. This week alone, the lack of arm strength has been a problem in two divisional games.
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The Baltimore Orioles stole four bases in Wednesday’s 7-6 win in 10 innings over the New York Yankees. This comes after Sunday’s fiasco in Boston where the Red Sox set a franchise record with nine stolen bases against Trevino and the Yankees.
In Wednesday’s game, Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins stole third base in the 10th inning off Yankees closer Clay Holmes. Trevino launched the ball into left field, allowing Mullins to score, which turned out to be the deciding run in the game. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Trevino didn’t get a good transfer on the play. Trevino said he should not have thrown the ball at all.
Trevino would not elaborate on why he thinks his arm speed has dropped by 3.4 mph since last season and simply answered “no” when asked if he was concerned by that fact. Boone also downplayed his catcher’s arm being an issue.
“That throw where he doesn’t have a good grip on it and still tries to force it anyways is going to register as bad miles per hour,” Boone said. “He’s never been a miles-per-hour guy. It’s on all of us to make sure we’re controlling those things and making sure he’s got to be really efficient and rely on exchange and getting the ball out and being accurate. We got to keep trying, as best as we can, to work on those things, work when we can on arm strength and keeping that as good as it can be. It’s a group effort.”
Boone added that he thinks what has transpired on the basepaths lately hasn’t changed opposing teams’ plans for how they attack the Yankees. Mullins told reporters the Orioles weren’t taking advantage of a perceived weakness behind the plate; stealing bases is just part of their team’s identity.
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The stolen-base issue that has crept up this week isn’t solely on Trevino’s arm. Pitchers are at fault, too. In Sunday’s game, the Red Sox took advantage of Yankees starter Marcus Stroman being one of the easier pitchers to steal off of with his high leg kick to home plate and his lack of velocity. But controlling the running game has to improve. It’s easily exploitable in October by teams that have speed.
“It’s a team effort in that regard,” said Gerrit Cole, who made his season debut Wednesday. “It’s about mixing up timings, strategic pickoffs — obviously with that being limited, it’s another element now. I guess awareness, too, of who’s trying to steal when you can give up a bag or when you can focus more on the hitter and whatnot. It’s something that opposing teams with speed are always challenging you on.”
Neither Trevino nor backup Austin Wells have good arms, but both rank inside the top five in framing. They’re constantly stealing strikes for Yankees pitchers, which impacts the game more often than stolen base attempts. The organization as a whole has prioritized framing as the No. 1 skill for catchers. With the Yankees committing to Trevino and Wells, their lack of arm strength is just something that they’ll have to live with for the time being. It’s not the biggest problem facing the Yankees.
Bullpen needs reinforcements
The Yankees bullpen for the last month has been one of the worst units in MLB.
Since May 20, the Yankees’ 4.81 ERA ranks 25th in the league. They’re 21st in fWAR with 0.0; 22nd in FIP and K-BB percentage; and 28th in BB/9. Before May 20, the Yankees’ 2.49 ERA was the best in baseball. Part of the problem has been Holmes not being as crisp as he was to begin the season. In Holmes’ first 20 innings of the season, he allowed zero runs. In his last 12 innings, Holmes has given up nine runs, including five in his last three outings.
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“Definitely not where I want to be the last three outings,” Holmes said. “I think there’s a little bit of a mixture there of not being able to put guys away when I need to on that swing and miss. I really haven’t been beating myself. It’s just a matter of putting guys away. Obviously, there’s been some soft contact that’s kind of led to some traffic. I have the pitches to do it. It’s just a matter of making those pitches, reading swings and knowing what spots to go to with it. I know there’s improvement there. I kind of know where I’m at. I know I’m better than what I’ve been in the last three outings.”
Holmes pitches to contact, and the risk of that is what happened Wednesday. Mullins hit a bloop single to center, allowing the Orioles’ automatic runner on second to score. He was burned last month in a blown save against the Seattle Mariners where they registered weak contact but scored four runs against him.
The lack of strikeouts from the bullpen is an issue that needs solving. The Yankees came into Wednesday’s game tied for 20th in bullpen strikeout percentage. No legitimate World Series contender ranks lower than the Yankees.
They’ll need to solve this issue by the trade deadline. Scott Effross made his rehab assignment debut with Low-A Tampa on Wednesday and could help with the lack of swing-and-miss when he’s back with the Yankees. JT Brubaker, acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier in the season, could also help, but he’s being built up as a starter. Prospect Jack Neely, who was promoted to Triple A on Wednesday, had 52 strikeouts in 32 Double-A innings this season. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him in the majors later in the season.
But, realistically, the Yankees should look externally for help to shore up the bullpen’s lack of swing-and-miss. Several high-strikeout relievers could switch teams by the end of next month, such as Michael Kopech of the Chicago White Sox; Jake Diekman of the New York Mets; Lucas Erceg of the Oakland A’s; Yimi García of the Toronto Blue Jays; and Andrew Nardi and Tanner Scott of the Miami Marlins.
Plugging this hole could be the difference between a short and long October.
(Photo of Cedric Mullins scoring on a throwing error by Yankees catcher Jose Trevino in the 10th inning Wednesday: Gregory Fisher / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Chris Kirschner is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the New York Yankees. He previously covered the Atlanta Hawks from 2018-2022 for The Athletic. Chris was named Georgia's Sportswriter of the Year in 2021 for his work covering the Hawks. Chris is a native of Bronx, NY. Follow Chris on Twitter @chriskirschner
