"Luke Weaver is the most valuable Yankee" - Former 3x All-Star snubs Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo
Luke Weaver and the rest of the Yankees bullpen have been phenomenal in the postseason. Many MLB analysts believe the Bronx Bombers are overreliant on their bullpen for defense. For MLB analyst and former three-time All-Star pitcher Dan Plesac, Weaver is more important to the team than others, including Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
Speaking on MLB Network after the Yankees beat the Guardians 5-2 in ALCS Game 1 on Monday, Plesac was all praise for the Yankees closer, going as far as to make a bold statement. [1:18]
"I'm gonna tell you this, and you're gonna laugh at me. I know it's a team with (Aaron) Judge and (Giancarlo) Stanton and (Alex) Verdugo and the list (Juan Soto, Gerrit Cole, etc) goes on and on. He (Luke Weaver) is the most valuable Yankee," said Plesac.
Greg Amsinger and Harold Reynolds, the other MLB analysts on the show, differed with Plesac, but the former Brewers pitcher explained the reasoning behind his statement. [1:31]
"Everyone in New York three week ago (was like) 'our bullpen's a mess, Clay Holmes is setting of fire alarm everywhere in the Bronx.' Luke Weaver settled that bullpen down. That Yankee bullpen now is as good as (any other team)," said Plesac.
The veteran MLB analyst claimed the Yankees bullpen has been the team's cornerstone for several years. However, the Bronx Bombers' bullpen wasn't doing great until last August, but Weaver's introduction changed their fortunes. [1:47]
"The one thing the Yankees have had the last 10 years (is the bullpen). You can knock the lineup; you can knock the starting pitching; their bullpen has always been top shelf.
"Their bullpen was subpar in August going into September. They put this guy (Luke Weaver) in the ninth inning, all of a sudden Clay Holmes is nasty," said Plesac.
What Plesac has claimed has some truth to it, as Luke Weaver's stats in the postseason would suggest. In the 2024 postseason, Weaver has had three saves with three or more outs, which nobody has done since Kenley Jansen in 2017.
Plesac names Luke Weaver the best relief pitcher in baseball over Emmanuel Clase and Edwin Diaz.
Emmanuel Clase and Edwin Diaz have been instrumental in the deep postseason runs for their teams - Cleveland Guardians and New York Mets - respectively.
Clase was almost untouchable in the regular season and faltered only once in the postseason. Diaz, meanwhile, has closed matters for the Mets without hiccups on multiple occasions.
Dan Plesac believes Weaver is the best relief pitcher in the game, but Greg Amsinger disagrees and argues that the title belongs to Clase or Edwin Diaz.
"Luke Weaver is the best reliever in the game of baseball right now," asaid Plesac. [0:02]
The former three-time All-Star pitcher clarified that he didn't mean Weaver was the all-time greatest. To explain his claim, Plesac highlighted the performance the closer had against the Guardians in ALCS Game 1.
In the last 1.2 innings against the Guardians, the Yankees closer struck out four hitters, without giving up a run or hit.