Yankees considering bullpen changes amid closer's historic struggles

The New York Yankees have a bullpen problem, and it has extended to the most important role regarding the unit.

After closer Clay Holmes blew his 11th save of the season — the most in Major League Baseball — against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night, the Yankees are now considering a potential change.

What that would look like isn't yet clear and while they are still supporting Holmes amid his struggles, manager Aaron Boone mentioned they may have to switch things up.

"Want to support Clay through this," Boone told the media Wednesday . "The reality is he’s really not that far off from being the dominant guy we know he can be. But in the short term, we’ll certainly be a little creative down there.”

There is something to be said about the bad luck Holmes has endured this season. His rates with soft contact and inducing ground balls are strong, and his 3.14 expected ERA is in the 86th percentile, according to Baseball Savant .

The problem is that oftentimes when Holmes doesn't have his best stuff, the inning quickly deteriorates, and he's unable to get back into a groove.

On top of that, Holmes' 11 blown saves are reaching franchise-history marks, and not in the good way. Only Dave Righetti (1987) and Goose Gossage (1983) have more blown saves in a single season — they each had 13 in their respective years.

The Yankees don't have many great options to replace Holmes with either. The role likely could have gone to Jonathan Loaisiga, but he tore his UCL at the beginning of April.

They likely could go with a committee approach, rotating the likes of Luke Weaver, Jake Cousins and Tommy Kahnle — none of them have the experience Holmes does.

The Yankees have to produce better results from their bullpen if they want to make a serious run in the postseason.

Otherwise, an early exit could be in the cards yet again.

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