Let’s talk about the New York Yankees current closer situation. This offseason, New York bid farewell to Aroldis Chapman who had been their closer for five years. His fate was sealed after he decided to ditch postseason practice due to not being guaranteed a roster spot. Since then, Clay Holmes has been the closer. However, due to his struggles in the second half of last year and this season, Wandy Peralta should now be the closer.
2022 Second Half Struggles Persisting Into 2023
Holmes has really struggled since the second half of last season. While he has converted all four of his save opportunities, Holmes has been very inconsistent. Since July of last season, he has had an ERA of 5.81. So far this season, the struggles he experienced that caused him to lose the closer role in 2022 are continuing. He currently has an ERA of 5.40 to begin the 2023 season. While it’s still too early to tell what kind of season he’ll have, it still makes me wonder about his status as the closer.
The Wandy Peralta Heist
Wandy Peralta might have been one of the best heists the Yankees pulled off on the trade market. In 2021, the Yankees acquired Wandy Peralta from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Mike Tauchman. Given the number of injuries the Yankees had in 2021, fans originally though the move was crazy. However, Tauchman only lasted part of that season with the Giants and spent 2022 playing in the KBO. He is currently on a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs attempting to revitalize his career.
Meanwhile, Peralta has become quite the steal for New York. Since coming to the Yankees, Peralta has become one of the more trusted relievers in the bullpen. He’s pitched in 107 games and has had an ERA of just 2.72 and registered seven saves as well. Wandy Peralta also was on the Yankees postseason roster for the first time in his career. Peralta appeared in seven games registering an ERA of 3.12 while striking out eight and walking only one batter. So far in 2023, Peralta has appeared in five games and has yet to give up a run. He is once again going to be the pitcher the Yankees go to in high-leverage situations.
Peralta Is A Better High Leverage Pitcher
Given the struggles of Holmes and the success Peralta has had in high-leverage situations, he deserves a chance to be the closer. Last season in late-inning pressure situations, Peralta only allowed a batting average of .236 with just one home run. When the bases were loaded, opponents only hit .143 with no home runs when Peralta was on the mound. Peralta has also proven he can pitch more than one game. He did this eight times last season. Also, in the ALDS against Cleveland, he showed he could pitch three games in a row without rest.
Wandy Has More Of An Arsenal Of Pitches
Like Holmes, Wandy Peralta likes to throw his off-speed pitches. His arsenal of pitches includes a change-up, sinker, slider, and a four seem fastball. Wandy Peralta especially likes to throw his change-up which he does 46.8% of the time. Despite only throwing a fastball 7.4% of the time, Peralta still knows how to unleash a 95 MPH heater to put a hitter away. Unlike Holmes, Peralta has more of a variety of pitches he can go to if one of them isn’t working. It’s good to have a variety of pitches if you want to be a closer.
Clay Holmes on the other hand only has a sinker, slider, and sweeper in his repertoire. Holmes is primarily a sinker ball pitcher evidenced by his usage of it 69.1% of the time. However, the type of pitcher Holmes is doesn’t come without risks. Being primarily a sinker ball pitcher means that you must be sure that you’re throwing strikes with it. If you’re struggling to throw it, then trouble will happen. The Yankees saw this during most of the second half of last season even at some points this year. Due to his limited repertoire, hitters can pretty much assume they’ll see sinkers taking out the guess work in the at-bat.
Peralta Deserves A Shot At Closing
Unlike Clay Holmes, Wandy Peralta has proven he can pitch consistently well in high-leverage situations. Closers need to have the ability to win games no matter how close the score is. Given Peralta’s success in a variety of high leverage situations, he deserves a chance to be the closer. Peralta has more pitches he can go to if his change-up isn’t working. Due to Holmes’s limited arsenal and his inconsistencies, it makes it very difficult for me to pick him over Peralta to close games.
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