The Yankees are moving pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange to the bullpen in Triple-A, as first reported by Jack Curry of The YES Network. Manager Aaron Boone subsequently confirmed the decision while adding that the team still hopes to develop Lagrange as a starter in future seasons.
“We definitely view him long term as a starter,” Boone told reporters (including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). “But in the 2026 lens, there’s a chance for him to potentially impact us out of the bullpen while not really disrupting anything moving forward.” Boone added that the Yankees will need to take “several weeks” to get Lagrange accustomed to working in shorter stints and pitching on an every other day basis.
That’ll take place with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It’ll still be at least a few weeks before Lagrange is an option at the MLB level. It’s clear the Yankees are targeting a midseason promotion for the fireballing 23-year-old, who certainly has the stuff to be a late-inning weapon if he’s around the strike zone. They’ll ideally feel comfortable bringing him up a few weeks before the trade deadline, as that could factor into their urgency to add external bullpen help.
Lagrange has averaged 98.9 mph on his fastball while working as a starter. There’s a decent chance he’ll be sitting in the triple digits in shorter stints, as he’s been clocked up to 103. He’s carrying a pedestrian 4.41 ERA through 49 Triple-A innings despite a 29% strikeout rate. Lagrange has walked more than 11% of opponents while averaging less than five innings per start.
The fastball is one of the best minors. Prospect evaluators also praise his breaking stuff, most notably his slider. Baseball America and Eric Longenhagen/Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs each ranked Lagrange the #4 prospect in the Yankees system over the winter. Both outlets felt he was likeliest to end up in the bullpen given his subpar control but write that he has closing upside in that capacity.
The Yankees seem likely to look for another high-leverage arm to join David Bednar, Fernando Cruz and Brent Headrick in relief. Bednar, an impending free agent, has had an inconsistent season in the closer role. New York could get Clarke Schmidt back late in the year to work in a relief capacity and/or consider Ryan Weathers in the bullpen if they’re concerned about his workload.
