An 8th Inning April Fool's Prank

 Aaron Boone gave Yankee fans their own special April Fool’s Day prank. It came in the form of his bullpen usage against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Look, I get it, the reason why the Yankee bullpen fell a part in the 8th inning was because Tim Hill simply didn’t have it last night. That’s the reason why Mark Leiter Jr had to be a fireman against Arizona. And the reason why Tim Hill was ushered into action in the 8th inning was because closer Devin Williams was placed on the paternity list yesterday afternoon and the Yankee bullpen was in such dire straits, they had to sign familiar face Adam Ottavino to fill out the 26-man roster.

However, it is a questionable decision on Boone’s part as to why Luke Weaver wasn’t the second guy out of the pen after Hill or even the man to take care of the 8th inning from the start. Going into the top of the 8th Arizona was sending up their eight, nine, and one in their order. However, the Diamondbacks had an ace in the hole on the bench, Randal Grichuk.

The 33-year-old outfielder owns the Yankees. In 67 career games against the Bombers Grichuk has a .256 batting average, 10 doubles, 18 home runs, 35 RBI’s, an .833 OPS, and 36 runs scored. Randal Grichuk is a certified Yankee Killer. And yet, Aaron Boone allowed Torey Lovullo to use his best weapon in the biggest part of the game. It’s also head scratching because Luke Weaver was fully rested. The Yankee Setup Man threw 19 pitches on Opening Day and hasn’t touched the mound since. He was ready to go in the biggest spot of the game given where in the lineup Arizona was, maybe turning to your best reliever is the better decision.

I also understand that it’s game four of 162. There’s a long way to go. Aaron Boone is thinking about the weekly setup of his bullpen usage, and further the longer term of next week, and the rest of the month potentially. He will at one point need to turn to “lower” leverage relievers to step up in big spots. Plus, given how the Yankees starters haven’t given the needed length you’d like to see. Boone’s decision wasn’t made in a vacuum.

But to go another step further against the Yankee Manager—why not turn to Luke Weaver to face the second hottest hitter in baseball right now (behind Aaron Judge) Eugenio Suarez with the bases loaded and two outs? That is the reason why you have a relief ace waiting in the wings. To save the day when needed and yet the Yankees best arm was sitting in the right field bullpen watching like the rest of us.

Elsewhere in baseball last night, an extremely similar situation unfolded in Los Angeles. Dave Roberts and the World Champion Dodgers were up two in the top of the 8th with the Atlanta Braves sending up Nick Allen, Michael Harris II, and Austin Riley or Atlanta’s nine, one, and two in the order. Roberts put in perhaps the best arm in his bullpen, Blake Treinen, to protect the Dodgers two-run lead. Los Angeles does have Tanner Scott to man the 9th inning, a luxury Aaron Boone didn’t have last night, but the sentiment remains the same. If the Yankees want to start to change the perception from last year to this year, even a small move like that would do the trick. When your opponent is on the ropes, step on their throat.

It wasn’t all bad on April Fool’s Day. Will Warren had five good innings and gave one of the best outings from a Yankee starter so far in 2025, even though it was only five innings. Jasson Dominguez hit his first home run of the season. Ben Rice also hit his second home run of the season to give the Yankees a little bit of life in their last chance in the bottom of the 9th. The signs are there to see the Yankees as the World Series contender in the American League, but there also signs that they are handicapped by a certain way of thinking.