Around the Empire: Yankees news - 4/25/21

New York Post | Dan Martin: About the only thing keeping the Yankees in games for much of the season has been their dominant bullpen. Almost all of their relievers are firing on all cylinders. That includes lower-end pieces, like Lucas Luetge, who got off to a shaky start but has put together a few good outings, including a crucial four-out stint against Cleveland a couple nights ago. Not to mention Jonathan Loaisiga, who has looked elite in a small sample thus far.

Twitter | Meredith Marakovits: It looks likely that Deivi García will get his first start of the season tomorrow in Baltimore. Aaron Boone announced Saturday that Garcia was “lined up” and should get the call up from the taxi squad. García was edged out by Domingo German for the fifth starter slot, but always figured to get plenty of looks at the big-league level throughout the year. The Yankees may not stick with a sixth starter for long, so García may not stay up for more than one start.

FanGraphs | Chet Gutwein: Not strictly a Yankees piece here, but I think one relevant to the team’s strategy. Gutwein examines reliever usage across the league this year and over the past decade, and found that the trends of recent years have continued. Teams are using more relievers than ever, and bullpens now pitch a greater share of innings than ever before. The Yankees reflect these trends as well as any team, what with the Scranton Shuttle and Aaron Boone’s strict relief usage patterns. The manager refuses to pitch relievers three days in a row, and has prioritized the long game over tiring out his best relief pitchers early on.