Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Haven't 'Ruled Out' Reunion With Unique Bullpen Piece

The New York Yankees could be interested in re-signing this veteran reliever.

Grant Young

Jul 12, 2020; Bronx, New York, United States; A view of the New York Yankees logo and seat number of an empty seat during a simulated game during summer camp workouts at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Jul 12, 2020; Bronx, New York, United States; A view of the New York Yankees logo and seat number of an empty seat during a simulated game during summer camp workouts at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees' roster still has several question marks that need addressing before the 2025 season begins.

The most glaring one is the lack of a left-handed relief pitcher. New York has zero left-handed relievers on their 40-man roster, which is concerning because having a guy late in games who can be trusted to left-handed hitters out is of the utmost importance; especially in the playoffs, when the Yankees might face teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers who have multiple Hall of Fame caliber lefty hitters at the top of their lineup.

The Yankees will most likely find and sign some free agent lefty reliever this offseason (perhaps former Yankee Tim Hill or former Texas Rangers southpaw Andrew Chafin). However, one of the most effective relievers against lefties is actually right-handed. And he has spent the past two seasons (plus a few other years before that) with the Yankees.

We're talking about changeup specialist Tommy Kahnle, who is currently a free agent. And in a January 3 article, the New York Post's Dan Martin explained that the Yankees could still be interested in Kahnle.

"A reunion with Tommy Kahnle hasn’t been ruled out, as the right-hander continued to be effective against lefties last year," Martin wrote.

Left-handed hitters produced a .169 average and a .575 OPS against Kahnle last season, compared to a .213 average and a .684 OPS that right-handed hitters amassed.

This is owed to Kahnle's game-changing changeup, which he threw a staggering 73.1% of the time in 2024 (nobody else threw changeups more than 53.6% of the time). Kahnle raised that stat to 90% in the playoffs, including 56 in a row at one point.

If the Yankees did manage to re-sign Kahnle, the need to add a lefty reliever would be less pressing (albeit still present).

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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