As Michael King likely enters a rotation competition, there figures to be a King-sized hole in the Yankees’ bullpen.
After King transitioned seamlessly into a starter through eight mostly excellent starts to finish the season, the righty earned his way into what projects to be a strong rotation, although obvious questions remain concerning how many starting pitchers the Yankees will add this offseason.
His conversion led to a few relievers fitting into his valuable cleats.
First Ian Hamilton lengthened out into a multi-inning, dominant threat before an injury opened the door for Jhony Brito to do the same.
If the 2024 Yankees hope to keep a reliever stretched out to fill multiple frames in bursts rather than operating one inning at a time more frequently, they could first try the same relievers who looked strong in the role.
As King began stretching out, so did Hamilton.
Hamilton, who excelled in his first year in The Bronx, covered 18 ²/₃ innings in nine August appearances, including a three-inning outing Aug. 30 in which he held the Tigers scoreless and hitless.
After throwing the most innings in a month of his career, Hamilton felt his groin pull and missed the first two weeks of September.
He was happy with how his arm was bouncing back under a different kind of stress, but it’s possible the workload caught up with him.
Hamilton, who finished the year with 58 innings and a 2.64 ERA in his first full major league season, said he is open to becoming King’s heir, if that’s what the 2024 bullpen calls for.
“If that’s what they need me to do,” Hamilton said early last month. “I’ll get the innings and work whenever I can. Get outs — I just like getting outs.”
If he sounds open to anything, there is good reason.
The 28-year-old only had logged 14 ²/₃ total major league innings with the White Sox and Twins over the previous five seasons.
The rare Yankees bright spot called his year “probably the best baseball experience I’ve ever had.”
Manager Aaron Boone added that Hamilton, who also saved a couple games, “definitely can fill a lot of different roles in the pen.”
As can Brito, who essentially traded places with King during his own end-of-season transition.
Brito came up through the system as a starter, debuted in April and served as frequently used and frequently optioned rotation depth through mid-August, when he owned a 5.43 ERA.
With King in the rotation and with Hamilton lost at the beginning of September, Brito’s final nine games of the season all were out of the bullpen and ranged from two to 3 ²/₃ innings.
A fringe starter pitched like an elite reliever in those 25 ²/₃ innings in which he allowed four runs (1.40 ERA).
A five-pitch starter, Brito lowered his usage particularly of his changeup as a reliever and threw more fastballs and curveballs while more effective than he ever was as a starter.
It is possible, though, that the 2024 Yankees choose to keep Brito stretched out as a starter for depth reasons and perhaps begin the season in the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre rotation.
It is probably too early to begin projecting, but barring trades, the Yankees would return Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt, who all would slot in to a rotation that King likely would join.
A free-agent addition or two would create additional depth or create room for incumbent starters to be moved in trades.
If not Hamilton or Brito, in-house, multi-inning bullpen options would include Randy Vasquez and Luis Gil, who made two September minor league rehab appearances after May 2022 Tommy John surgery.