Luke Weaver becomes Yankees closer after getting cut by Reds and Mariners

NEW YORK (AP) — Luke Weaver walked onto the Wrigley Field mound last month for his big league closing debut and was far from stoic.

“I couldn’t see straight. I was blacked out for the most part. I was pure adrenaline,” the New York Yankees pitcher said. “Heightened vision that then becomes blurry, a heart rate that feels — that is uncontrollable, a numbness that goes through the body, yet everything is working at the same time.”

Come Saturday night, he could be on the mound at a moment once dominated by Mariano Rivera, pitching in pinstripes at an AL Division Series before a rabid crowd counting on him to close out wins that propel the Yankees toward their first World Series title since 2009.

Quite the turnaround for a journeyman who was twice designated for assignment.

“I know I surprised the world a little bit, but I feel like this game’s hard. I feel like this game comes with a lot of success and a lot of failure,” he said this week. “And in my account, the failure has definitely filled up a lot of the chapters, but it was for good reason. It’s preparing me for this moment to allow me to pitch in a city like this on a team that’s as good as they are to hopefully be a key piece down the stretch here. Definitely had confidence in myself — but it was long, long awaited.”

Clay Holmes had been in the closer job since supplanting Aroldis Chapman early in 2022 season, but the two-time All-Star struggled this year. He blew 13 of 43 save chances, tying the Yankees record shared by Goose Gossage and Dave Righetti.

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After rookie Wyatt Langford’s game-ending grand slam off Holmes at Texas on Sept. 4, Yankees manager Aaron Boone decided to make a change. Two days later, Boone asked Weaver to protect a three-run, ninth-inning lead against the Chicago Cubs.

Making his 199th big league appearance and pitching in the ballpark where he made his debut with St. Louis in 2016, Weaver got Michael Busch to take a called third strike on a 98.1 mph fastball at the high, outside corner. Seiya Suzuki swung past a cutter that spun low and away and, after a full-count walk to Cody Bellinger, Weaver battled Isaac Paredes in an 11-pitch at-bat that ended with a groundout.

“It feels different, right? You know, you see the crowd getting in on it,” Weaver said. “It’s just a lot of fun. You look back on it, it’s going to be a really cool memory.”

A 31-year-old right-hander, Weaver was taken by the Cardinals from Florida State with the 27th overall pick in the 2014 amateur draft. He went 15-17 with a 4.78 ERA in three seasons starting for St. Louis. He was traded to Arizona after the 2018 season, then was shifted to the bullpen by the Diamondbacks in 2022 and traded to Kansas City that August.

He became a free agent and signed with Cincinnati for 2023 and went back into the rotation. Struck on his glove arm by a Michael Conforto liner on July 18, Weaver had a 5.57 ERA in his next five starts and was released that Aug. 18.

“You get kicked in the teeth enough times and you got to get back up, right?” Weaver said. “Coming to the park every day when you’re unsuccessful is one of the hardest things to do. You feel like the weight of the world’s on you. You feel like the loss is on you.”

He signed with Seattle five days later and was claimed off waivers by the Yankees in mid-September. He became a free agent again and re-signed with New York in January for a $2 million deal that wound up earning him another $250,000 in performance bonuses. The contract includes a $2.5 million team option for 2025.

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole had suggested last September that Weaver change his fastball grip, and Weaver cut down his leg kick while preparing for spring training. Pitching coach Matt Blake noticed a transformation.

“About two-to-three inches of ride to the fastball, killed about two inches depth on the changeup, so you got about five-to-six inches more separation between those pitches,” Blake said Wednesday. “He’s kind of messed with the cutter a little bit, so he’s got a little bit more like a cutter/ slider to the righties and then can keep the cutter up to the lefties. ... Sometimes relievers are 1 1/2 pitches and he’s got three to four options, which is nice.”

Weaver had a 2.89 ERA this season, striking out 103 and walking 28 in 84 innings while allowing 52 hits as his WHIP dropped from 1.58 to 0.93. He saved all four of his chances, relying on a fastball that averaged 95.7 mph — up from 94 mph last year — while mixing in changeups and cutters.

“A lot’s been made of his reactions, the intensity, the release of emotion after a big out to end an inning,” Boone said. “He’s definitely performed well in the biggest moments of the regular season so far. He’s a better pitcher than he’s probably ever been in his life, and that’s credit to him for some of the adjustments he’s made and how he’s embraced going to the bullpen.”

Weaver is part of a bullpen that includes Holmes, Jake Cousins, Tommy Kahnle, Ian Hamilton and Mark Leiter Jr. on the right side, along with left-handers Tim Hill and Tim Mayza. In the evolution of bullpen usage, Weaver may not be counted on for the final three outs.

“He might be in the biggest moment in a big spot in the seventh and I can’t get him to the ninth,” Boone said.

Weaver quotes Scripture online and makes sure to point out he is part of a group effort.

“I want to make the record straight: I don’t view myself as the closer,” Weaver said. “I view myself as someone who goes out there and tries to get outs and when the phone rings, I’m ready to go.”

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