TORONTO — Luke Weaver does not feel like himself, but the Yankees are not yet ready to pull the plug on the reliever pitching in the spots he usually does.
A year after he was the club’s closer during its run to the World Series, Weaver has found himself in a conundrum: within the last month, the Yankees noticed he was tipping his pitches, except something happened along the way in trying to avoid doing so that has disrupted his flow on the mound.
The result has been two postseason appearances in which Weaver has yet to record an out, giving up four hits and two walks, the latest one coming Saturday on the way to a 10-1 loss to the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALDS.
Still, Aaron Boone said Sunday he would “not necessarily” reconsider how he uses Weaver moving forward.
“If it calls for him, it calls for him,” Boone said before Game 2 at Rogers Centre. “Within what he said, he also understands how close he is too and how physically good he feels. He’s one outing away from turning it around. It’s not like we’re trying to get a guy that’s, ‘Eh, his stuff’s not where it needs to be.’ Clean up some things, one outing, boom.
“But, certainly mindful of where things are.”
Still, the pecking order in the bullpen is by no means set in stone, especially with Camilo Doval looking as good as he has in a Yankees uniform in Game 1 with two perfect innings.
But in order for the Yankees to get where they want to go, they will need everyone pulling their weight.
“And different days and different games, guys are going to have to be [pitching in high-leverage spots], depending on what the game calls for,” Boone said. “And the playoffs is pretty much all high-leverage.”
In the meantime, Weaver sounded like he was ready to go back to what was working for him before and stop thinking too much about not tipping.
“It’s just about trying to make adjustments and they’re happening pretty late and it’s become a lot,” Weaver said. “So ultimately, I’m at a point where I’m just full send and none of that’s going to matter anymore. I’m going to be what I think is best for me and I’m going to go out there and attack the way I need to.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
