Yankees' Relief Concerns Are Enough to Reunite With Former Hurler

If there is one thing that Yankees fans can agree upon, it's that they need help in the bullpen. This gives them an opportunity to get creative and convert one of their bevy of starters, like Carlos Lagrange or Ryan Weathers, into a late-inning arm. They can also go the external route. If that's the case, then the Minnesota Twins may have just helped the cause.

According to the New York Post's Jon Heyman, the Twins released a journeyman reliever who had been dealing at Triple A for them.

"Matt Bowman was given his release by Twins, likely due to 40-man issues," Heyman wrote on X. "Bowman posted a 1.69 ERA with 25 strikeouts and 6 walks in 21.1 innings while inducing groundballs at a 54.5% rate with AAA St. Paul. MLB deal elsewhere probably awaits."

It could be worth it for the Yankees to give Bowman a shot because, not only were his counting stats solid, as Heyman pointed out, but so were his numbers under the hood. According to Prospect Savant, Bowman kept hitters to an 86.7 mph average exit velocity, 1.8% barrel rate, and 28.6% hard hit rate. He also had a 28.1% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate.

If they do go out and sign him, this would be his second stint with the Yankees, as he saw time in the organization back in 2023. He had a full season of work with their Triple A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, that year, where he posted a 3.99 ERA over 58.2 innings. Bowman also had a brief stint with the big league club that year. He pitched all of four innings, though.

Matt Bowman steps on the mound for his first MLB game since 2019, looking to protect a 2-1 Yankees lead in the 8th.#YANKSonYESpic.twitter.com/pGpWDINQPH

- YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 13, 2023

The question is whose spot Bowman would snag. They could option Jake Bird, but he has been better of late. He has allowed just one earned run in his last five appearances and struck out a batter in four of those outings.

Another option is to release Ryan Yarbrough or Paul Blackburn. Both serve similar roles in the bullpen as long relief options, and having both on the roster actually limits the bullpen if their purpose is to eat innings rather than come in late in games.

Neither are particularly dynamic, but Yarbrough is a soft contact king and probably has more upside than Blackburn at this point. Yarbrough has a 2.73 xERA, .214 xBA, and has held batters to an 84.7 mph average exit velocity, 2% barrel rate, and 20.4% hard-hit rate. The best bet there could be to just keep Yarbrough and remove Blackburn for Bowman.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/yankees/onsi as Yankees' Relief Concerns Are Enough to Reunite With Former Hurler.

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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 4:50 AM.