Bleeding Yankee Blue: COUNTING ON KAHNLE

Monday, March 4, 2019

COUNTING ON KAHNLE

This bullpen may be one of the best bullpen's in Yankee history. That's hard to imagine without Mariano Rivera, but the potential that these guys have is insane. The Yankees made the right moves this winter but they still have one remaining piece from last season that they are counting on.

The Yankees envision Tommy Kahnle to be a part of this newly revamped bullpen, but he has to make sure he does his part to be included in it. That starts at Spring Training. Kahnle has to prove that the 2017 Kahnle wasn't a fluke and the 2018 Kahnle is gone for good.

It sounds like he is off to a good start. Friday night was the first time the Yankees go a good look at him, and he's off to a good start after striking out all three batters he faced. In fact, Aaron Boone said he looked better than he has ever seen him. Granted, that's not long but it is something.

That is what we need to hear about Kahnle, "you could tell the way the hitters were swinging, the way he was able to command, it wasn’t like he was reaching for it where at times I felt like he was trying to find the velocity that he didn’t really have last year," Boone said. "Mechanically, he was sound yesterday. That was free and easy and it was really good to see. He’s had a good winter and a good spring and to carry it into his first outing is a good thing for him," read more HERE.

So the first glimpse we get of Kahnle sounds good....really good. He sounds like he is in a better spot mentally and physically now that he has slimmed down also. The Yankees would like to see the inconsistent and injury prone Kahnle from last season gone, and I am sure he would too.

Photo of: Adam Ottavino

There is so much potential for this team. The Yankees could win if they can pull it all together. They made some important improvements to the team while the Red Sox still have areas of weakness that have been left unaddressed. The Yankees could be back on top again....but they still need Kahnle. The Yankees lost David Robertson, and even with the addition of Adam Ottavino, the Yankees need another guy to step up and be reliable and productive.

Kahnle is key to a revamped bullpen because the existing pieces cant do it alone. We can't just rely on Zack Britton. A resurgence from Kahnle gives the Yankees more breathing room, Ottavino has a lot of talent but we have yet to see how that translates away from Coors Field. Jonathan Holder struggled in the second half quite a bit and had difficulty at time with division rivals.

Kahnle is the forgotten man in the bullpen, but he could be the superstar that makes this the best bullpen we've ever seen. It sounds like he's on the right track. Can he earn his spot back and get the job done? I hope so.