By MIKE DeSANTO
The Yankees bullpen has certainly changed within the last 24 hours, with David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle joining the team in a trade with the White Sox. The deal also sends Tyler Clippard, Blake Rutherford, Ian Clarkin and Tito Polo to the White Sox while Todd Frazier comes over to the Yankees.
According to fangraphs.com, for those who have pitched a minimum of 20 innings, the Yankees now have four pitchers ranking top 20 for strike outs per nine innings.
It is expected that Robertson, who returns to the Yankees after two-and-a-half years with Chicago, will replace Clippard as the seventh inning pitcher. Robertson is averaging the 18th best K/9 at 12.7 this year, as well as 4.27 K/walk. Clippard, meanwhile, found success by strikeout (10.4 K/9), but not with walks at just 2.21 K/walk.
Kahnle is no slouch either, boasting 15 K/9 (4th in the MLB), 8.57 K/walk and averaging nearly an inning per appearance. The 2010 Yankees draft pick is also three strikeouts away from tying his career high of 63, set in his rookie season in 2014.
With starting pitching being a question due to injury, look for a deadly combo of Kahnle sixth, Robertson seventh setting the table for Dellin Betances (the league leader at 16.9 K/9) in the eighth and Aroldis Chapman (11th at 13.3 K/9) ninth.
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