Chasen Shreve

Following a rocky 2016 season, Shreve returned to form in 2017. The southpaw maintained a 3.77 ERA and 11.5 K/9, but he was lights out against left-handed hitters. In 61 at-bats, lefties managed a .164/.235/.262 line against the 27-year-old with 26 whiffs versus just six walks. His 4.55 FIP suggests he may be due for some sort of regression eventually, though serving in a modified LOOGY role should minimize the risk of any real implosions. Short of closer Aroldis Chapman, Shreve figures to be the top left-handed option out of the Yankees' bullpen. That should afford Shreve the opportunity to rack up more holds -- he was only able to manage one last season in 44 appearances, and has just 14 in his entire career to this point.

Shreve is a difficult case to figure out. In 2015, the lefty sported a sub-2.00 ERA for most of the season but imploded so dramatically at the end of the year that he was left off the Wild Card game roster. Entering spring training of 2016 it was unclear if he'd even make the roster. He broke camp with the team after a terrific spring, but what followed was once again an inconsistent campaign. Shreve struck out 33 in 33 innings, but the southpaw was hit much harder by lefties (.275/.383/.675 with a 1.058 OPS against him) than by righties. The 26-year-old also saw his strand rate dip down to about 67 percent, implying he may have been responsible for even more runs than his already high 5.18 ERA would suggest. If he's ever able to recapture the form that had him overpowering hitters in his first two seasons, Shreve could see some important innings, but it's more likely though that he'll be resigned to lower-leverage and middle-inning situations.

Thrown in as an extra piece as part of the trade that sent David Carpenter to the New York and Manny Banuelos to Atlanta, Shreve immediately established himself as one of the top options out of the Yankees' bullpen. The lefty entered September with just a 1.89 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 52.1 innings, but completely imploded in the final month of the season. The 25-year-old struggled to a 13.50 ERA in September and October, while also struggling with his command to the tune of eight walks to just five strikeouts in that span. His late struggles ultimately culminated in the Yankees leaving Shreve off their playoff roster for the Wild Card game, so he'll enter 2016 needing to regain the trust of manager Joe Girardi. With the trio of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman holding down the back end of the bullpen, Shreve will likely serve in a middle-inning role.

Using a sinking changeup to complement a low-90s four-seamer and a slider, Shreve struck batters out at a 36.7% clip in 36 appearances with Double-A Mississippi to begin the year, earning a promotion to the big club shortly after the All-Star break. The 24-year-old served as the lone lefty out of the Atlanta bullpen until the team acquired James Russell from the Cubs at the deadline, at which point Shreve went down to Triple-A Gwinnett before returning again in September. He posted reverse platoon splits with both Mississippi and Atlanta last season (.167/.200/.208 vs. righties, .273/.333/.318 vs. lefties at the major league level), and thus he may not be an ideal fit for a specialist role, but Shreve made major strides with his control last season and his ability to miss bats at a good clip should put him in the discussion for a middle-relief role with the Yankees following a January trade.