New York Yankees rumor reveals they blew chance to land red-hot reliever who could have easily replaced Clay Holmes

The New York Yankees have a serious chance to reach the World Series in October. They have the odds on favorite to win the American League MVP (Aaron Judge), All-Star outfielder Juan Soto, and a legitimate ace — Gerrit Cole. However, the recent struggles of closer Clay Holmes have put that all in serious jeopardy.

New York Yankees ninth-inning troubles take a scary turn this week

After having a strong finish to August, things have gone off the rails again for the Yankees in recent weeks. Entering the MLB games today , they have lost six of their last nine and handed over their lead in the AL East. A couple of weeks ago they had one of the two best records in the MLB standings . Now they are trying to avoid being a Wild Card team in 2024.

While certain parts of the roster can take the blame for the recent slump, closer Clay Holmes deserves most of it. The two-time All-Star had a strong first half and it helped him earn All-Star honors again this season. However, there were also signs that he might not be a reliable late-inning option for the team in the biggest games of the season.

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Earlier this week the 31-year-old blew his 11th save of the season. That is currently the most in MLB this year. It is not what you want on a team with serious World Series hopes this year. And it is why the New York Yankees were linked to a potential for talented former Marlins closer Tanner Scott.

However, a new report claims that the team was in talks about another Miami reliever in July. One who has been red-hot since the MLB trade deadline and likely would have been a perfect option to replace Holmes as closer.

Yankees nearly added AJ Puk to the Jazz Chisholm trade

The Yankees did make a major trade with the Marlins in July that landed them talented and versatile one-time All-Star Jazz Chisholm. However, this week, New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman revealed that the veteran reliever AJ Puk was almost added to that trade.

On the surface, it does not seem like a big deal. Since Puk has been a solid to good but not great pitcher during his six-year career. However, since being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks he has been one of the best relievers in baseball. Pitching to a 0.56 ERA, and 0.63 WHIP, with 26 strikeouts in 16 innings for his new team.

How different could the team’s outlook be for the rest of the season if Puk was an option to replace Holmes? Instead of some of the ideas being thrown around over the last week. The Diamondbacks did give up a pair of top 30 players in their system for Puk. Something the Yankees could have also done. Especially with a serious chance to win another championship this October.

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