The Philadelphia Phillies are headed for another losing season and have some assets to trade off. Pat Neshek is one of them that will attract contenders. One team that should have an interest in the veteran right-hander is the New York Yankees, who as of late, could use some help.
Good bullpen help is hard to come by, especially when you get towards the second half of the season. When a decent arm becomes available, all eyes are on it. In the Phillies case, they are in dead last and have trade chips to part with like Neshek.
Aside from Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances, who even themselves have encountered some struggles, the New York Yankees bullpen has been shaky. Tyler Clippard has been pretty bad over the last few weeks. Adam Warren has been on the disabled list. What was once a strength of the Yankees has suddenly become a bit of a liability; the game against the Houston Astros on Saturday night at Minute Maid Field was clear evidence of that, as the Yankees bullpen blew a 6-3 lead and lost 7-6.
While the Yankees bullpen might straighten themselves out, they can certainly use some help and that’s where someone like Pat Neshek comes into play.
The 36-year-old Neshek is having a solid season in Philadelphia, as he’s pitching to a 2-2 record with a 1.39 ERA in 35 appearances with 31 strikeouts in 32.1 innings. All fantastic numbers and because he’s a free agent at the end of the season, it makes him even more likely to get moved.
What makes him an even more attractive candidate is his ability to pitch in either league. Aside from his success in the National League, Pat Neshek has done well pitching in the American League. He spent two seasons with the Houston Astros and kept his era in the 3.00-3.66 range, which is very good. He also pitched two seasons for the Oakland A’s from 2012-2013 and had success; in 2012, he had a1 1.37 ERA in 24 appearances.
Picking up the rest of Pat Neshek’s salary wouldn’t be an issue for the Yankees, as he’s only making $6.5 million before he hits free agency. Because he’s a middle reliever and not a closer, the price tag for his services in a trade shouldn’t be too high and wouldn’t cost the Yankees anything of significance.
If Clippard continues to encounter struggles, the ideal situation would be to insert Neshek into the seventh inning role and help build the bridge to Betances and Chapman, which lately, hasn’t been easy. If the Yankees still have envisions of playing in October baseball, shoring up the bullpen is one thing they need to do before the trade deadline at the end of the month.
Pat Neshek would help that case for the New York Yankees and should be a target to help their bullpen in the second half of the season.