Who Will Be The Yankees Closer In 2023?

The New York Yankees experienced some end-of-the game issues in 2022.

While Clay Holmes seemed to be on pace to have one of the most dominant pitching seasons of all-time, it began to fall apart after the All-Star Break.

This pushed the Yankees to try a variety of different closing options in September.

Now, with Opening Day looming, who will be the Yankees closer?

While Holmes is likely the front runner, his versatility to pitch multiple innings is valuable.

Yes, he could very well be a closer once again, but the Yankees may handcuff themselves by not allowing him to bridge multi-inning gaps.

Clay Holmes broke out in 2022, what will his ERA be in 2023? #NYY pic.twitter.com/j37g4qPTjM

— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) December 26, 2022

Another option is Jonathan Loiasiga, a reliever who had a stellar 2021 but struggled last season.

While his raw numbers alone may not suggest he is deserving of the role, he has some of the best stuff in baseball.

Alex Bregman even said that he was the hardest pitcher in MLB to face.

While these two look to be the most likely, there is also an option like Michael King.

King suffered a season ending arm injury last season that kept him out of the postseason.

However, he was arguably the Yankees best pitcher.

Michael King appreciation post
2.29 ERA
2.23 FIP
2.44 SIERA
33.2 K%
4th in the AL in reliever War despite missing over 2 months

Super excited to see who I think is our best reliever back and healthy in the pen for 2023 pic.twitter.com/3HeRSuXgE7

— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) January 5, 2023

While his health is still a question mark, he has begun throwing in preparation for 2023.

In the end, the Yankees have a good problem in front of them.

They have a number of worthy candidates to close games, all with their own merits.

However, it turns out, look for the Yankees bullpen as a whole to be one of the league’s best in 2023.