{"id":20328,"date":"2025-01-19T00:25:32","date_gmt":"2025-01-19T00:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328"},"modified":"2025-01-19T00:25:32","modified_gmt":"2025-01-19T00:25:32","slug":"breaking-yankees-get-100-5-mph-relief-dominator-in-shock-trade-idea-for-2-5-million-vet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Yankees Get 100.5 MPH Relief Dominator in Shock Trade Idea for $2.5 Million Vet"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg?quality=45&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Luke Weaver\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-dom-ready-time=\"853\" data-img-load-time=\"1064\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Luke Weaver<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The New York Yankees have already built what appears to be a solid back end of their bullpen for 2025. They added\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/all_transactions_other\/\">closer Devin Williams in a trade<\/a>\u00a0with the Milwaukee Brewers on December 13, and he brings a unique pitch he calls the \u201cAirbender\u201d \u2014 his unique version of a changeup \u2014 that led him to a 36-save season in 2023. He recorded 14 more in 2024 after\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/brewerfanatic.com\/news-rumors\/milwaukee-brewers\/post-back-injury-devin-williams-is-a-different-pitcher-in-two-different-ways-r2535\/\">stress fractures in his spine<\/a>\u00a0cost him the first half of the season.<\/p>\n<p>Setting the table for Williams will be nine-year veteran journeyman Luke Weaver, who suddenly emerged as a legitimate closer when he took over the role down the stretch from Clay Holmes last season. Weaver\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/gl.fcgi?id=weavelu01&amp;t=p&amp;year=2024\">saved four games in September<\/a>, plus another four in the postseason, playing a vital role in getting the Yankees to their first World Series in 15 years.<\/p>\n<p>But the Yankees are still seeking additional relief help. They\u2019ve reportedly looked at San Diego Padres free agent closer Tanner Scott, but have since moved on \u2014 again, according\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bleedingyankeeblue.blogspot.com\/2025\/01\/yanks-may-prefer-chafin-over-scott.html\">to media reports<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 to former Texas Rangers lefty Andrew Chafin.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_1_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-1 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_1\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Solid Yankees Bullpen Disguises Hidden Weaknesses<\/h2>\n<p>A new and perhaps shocking trade idea would see the Yankees go in an entirely different direction and at the same time, minimize their risk of a late-season bullpen collapse while also setting themselves up in the closer\u2019s role for, potentially, several years to come.<\/p>\n<p>The problems with the all-important late-innings bullpen game for the Yankees right now can be summed up in two words: age, and injuries. Either of those factors could spoil what now appears to be favorable odds of a run back to the American League East pennant and second-straight appearance in the World Series. The two pitchers being counted upon by the Yankees to shorten games, Williams and Weaver, are 30 and 31 years old respectively. Williams, as mentioned previously, has a recent history of serious back injury \u2014 just last year.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_2_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-2 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_2\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Williams has another problem as well, though it\u2019s an issue more for the Yankees future than the 2025 season. He is pitching on a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/mlb\/player\/_\/id\/32715\/devin-williams\">one-year, $8.6 million contract<\/a>\u00a0and becomes a free agent heading into 2026, leaving the Yankees once again searching for closer.<\/p>\n<p>Weaver, on the other hand, is simply a pitcher coming off a career season \u2014 or really, half season. His projected performance in 2025,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/players\/luke-weaver\/16918\/stats?position=P\">according to\u00a0<em>Fangraphs<\/em><\/a>, shows a significant dropoff \u2014 a 3.68 ERA in 70 innings pitched compared to the 2.89 in 84 he racked up in 2024.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_3_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-3 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\"><\/div>\n<h2>Shocking Deal Makes Sense for Both Teams<\/h2>\n<p>A trade sending Weaver to the Minnesota Twins for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/split.fcgi?id=duranjh01&amp;year=Career&amp;t=p\">fireballer Jhoan Duran<\/a>, whose fastball averaged 100.5 mph last season\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/baseballsavant.mlb.com\/savant-player\/jhoan-duran-661395?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb\">per Statcast<\/a>\u00a0ranking him in the 100th percentile of all MLB pitchers, would be a stunner to Yankee fans, but both teams have specific reasons why the trade could happen, and be a win-win.<\/p>\n<p>Weaver is owed just $2.5 million this season making him an attractive option for a team always looking to reduce its financial commitments. Minnesota is just such a team.<\/p>\n<p>Duran makes more money,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/mlb\/player\/_\/id\/35710\/jhoan-duran\">$4.125 million in 2025<\/a>, but comes with two years of team control. That means, Duran takes over the Yankee closer\u2019s role at a relative bargain price if Williams departs in free agency. Plus, Duran is simply a younger (27 years old) and better pitcher than Weaver. For his career, Duran already has a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/stathead.com\/baseball\/versus-finder.cgi?player_id2=weaver000luk&amp;player_id1=duran-000jho&amp;request=1&amp;utm_source=br&amp;utm_campaign=2023_01_wdgt_player_comparison&amp;utm_medium=sr_xsite&amp;utm_id=duranjh01\">4.9 Wins Above Replacement<\/a>\u00a0total in 174 games, compared to a 2.6 WAR in 206 games for Weaver.<\/p>\n<p>With Weaver still projected to put up solid if not spectacular numbers in 2025 at a lower price, he may be just what the Twins are looking for. While Duran could dominate eighth-inning assignments with his overpowering velocity, setting batters up to be even more puzzled by Weaver\u2019s Airbender than they already are. With 33 days remaining before spring training games begin, will the Yankees be willing to give up one of last season\u2019s postseason heroes for future Yankee closer dominance with this unexpected trade idea?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Luke Weaver The New York Yankees have already built what appears to be a solid back end of their bullpen for 2025. They added\u00a0closer Devin Williams&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Yankees Get 100.5 MPH Relief Dominator in Shock Trade Idea for $2.5 Million Vet - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Yankees Get 100.5 MPH Relief Dominator in Shock Trade Idea for $2.5 Million Vet - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Luke Weaver The New York Yankees have already built what appears to be a solid back end of their bullpen for 2025. They added\u00a0closer Devin Williams...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-19T00:25:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328\",\"name\":\"BREAKING: Yankees Get 100.5 MPH Relief Dominator in Shock Trade Idea for $2.5 Million Vet - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-19T00:25:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-19T00:25:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":540},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING: Yankees Get 100.5 MPH Relief Dominator in Shock Trade Idea for $2.5 Million Vet\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING: Yankees Get 100.5 MPH Relief Dominator in Shock Trade Idea for $2.5 Million Vet - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING: Yankees Get 100.5 MPH Relief Dominator in Shock Trade Idea for $2.5 Million Vet - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"Getty Luke Weaver The New York Yankees have already built what appears to be a solid back end of their bullpen for 2025. They added\u00a0closer Devin Williams...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-01-19T00:25:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":540,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328","name":"BREAKING: Yankees Get 100.5 MPH Relief Dominator in Shock Trade Idea for $2.5 Million Vet - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-19T00:25:32+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-19T00:25:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Yankees-Trade-idea-Jhoan-Duran-Twins-Luke-Weaver.jpg","width":960,"height":540},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20328#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING: Yankees Get 100.5 MPH Relief Dominator in Shock Trade Idea for $2.5 Million Vet"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20328"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20330,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20328\/revisions\/20330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}