The Arm Whisperer: Matt Blake Is Fixing What Others Couldn't

Matt Blake was hired by the New York Yankees to be their next pitching coach for the organization in November of the 2019 offseason. Since the 2020 season Blake has become known to turn careers around on the Yankees, finding potential and making the most out of players who have struggled at the major league level.

Since the 2020 season, Blake has turned the careers around for at least 13 players in a four-year span (2025 is not included due to the season still ongoing).

2020

0 Players

Blake did not make really any impact in his first season with the Yankees when it comes to terms of player development. Players such as Michael King, Deivi Garcia and Jonathan Holder all pitched more than 20.0 innings and had ERA’s above 4.95 on the season.

2021

6 Players

Matt Blake had a breakout 2021 season as New York’s pitching coach, making six players have an improved season / career while on the Yankees.

• Joely Rodriguez had a 5.93 ERA with the Rangers turned into a 2.84 with the Yankees (19.0 innings) in a midseason trade with Texas.

• Lucas Luetge bounced between the majors and minors during his entire career up to him being acquired by the Yankees. Luetge had a career 4.35 ERA in 89 innings in the majors. New York worked Luetge and quickly had him become a top bullpen option, posting a 2.74 ERA in 72.1 innings in 2021. Luetge would have a 2.71 career ERA as a Yankee in 107 games, pitching 129.2 innings.

• Michael King would end up having a rebound season in 2021, with a 3.35 ERA in just over 63 innings. and would become a valuable asset to New York and later become a very important trade piece in acquiring Juan Soto. King would win 12 games for New York and would post an ERA of 2.88 in 115 games (15 starts), registering 219 innings with a 1.151 WHIP from 2021-23.

• When Clay Holmes was acquired via trade from Pittsburgh, many Yankee fans (including myself) thought Cashman was crazy for trading for a starter with a 4.93 season ERA. Little did we know the Yanks’ true plan for Holmes and the massive impact he would have in the Bronx. The Yankees would turn Holmes into a reliever and later would get him to be the closer. Holmes would post a sub 1.70 ERA in the second half of the ‘21 season and would become one of the best relievers in Yankees history, never recording a season ERA higher than 3.14. Holmes would appear in 220 games (217.2 innings) and would notch 74 saves, which currently ranks 9th all-time in Yankees franchise history.

• Wandy Peralta was another player acquired in a midseason trade by New York. In 220 games pre-Yankees, Peralta had a career ERA above 4.50 with the Giants along with a current 5.40 season ERA pre-trade. Peralta would post a 2.95 ERA in the second half of the season with the Yankees in 46 games. A 10-9 record with a 2.82 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 165 games saw Peralta pitch in 153 innings throughout his Yankees career from 2021-23. 

• After failing his first stint with the Yankees and then bouncing around the league, Nestor Cortes was brought back in 2021 with a career 6.72 ERA in 42 games. Cortes had an upset season, which would cement himself in New York’s starting five by season's end where he would stay till the end of his Yankees’ career. In four-years during his second stint, Cortes posted a sub 3.00 ERA in two of them. Overall, ‘Nasty’ Nestor would win 28 games for the Yanks’ and have a 10.2 WAR in 93 games (84 starts), that included 1 complete game shutout in 489 innings.

2022

1 Player

(Blake did have pitchers put up career highs but the stats are deflated due to lack of innings pitched = small sample size).

• Lou Trivino was acquired in a midseason trade from Oakland. A career 4.04 ERA in 260 games would see a short Yankees career that was plagued by injuries. Trivino only appeared in 25 games for New York, pitching in 21.2 innings and had a 1.66 ERA.

2023

2 Players

• Nick Ramirez had a career 4.55 ERA, averaging nearly a hit-per-inning in his 110.2 career innings pitched in 64 games. In 40.2 innings as a Yankee, Ramirez posted a 2.66 ERA, which would mark 2023 as the only season where his season ERA was below 4.00. Ramirez hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2024.

• Although Ian Hamilton has shown signs of regression here in 2024, with an ERA over 5.00 - Hamilton brought a career 4.91 ERA to New York and would get it lowered by having a 2.64 ERA in 39 games (3 as a spot starter), pitching in 58 innings. 2024 would feature a 3.82 ERA in 37.2 innings.

2024

4 Players

• Michael Tonkin started the season with the Mets and ended it with the Yankees with the best season of his career (min. 10 games). Tonkin notched a 3.38 era in 39 games, pitching 56 innings.

• Tim Hill would become an asset in New York’s road to the 2024 World Series. A 2.05 regular season ERA after being shipped midseason from the historically bad White Sox, saw a 1.08 ERA in the playoffs. Hill had a career ERA over 4.00 before wearing pinstripes.

• Nick Burdi is the statistically worst pitcher to come into Matt Blake’s pen. A career 9.39 career ERA guy in 19 games would post a 1.86 ERA in 12 games with an 11.2 K/9․

• Luke Weaver was acquired by the Yankees in 2023, but only appeared in three games. In 62 games in 2024, Weave-dawg would post a 0.929 WHIP across 84 innings with a 2.89 ERA. Before his injury in 2025, Weaver had a season ERA of 1.05 in 25.2 innings pitched. He was a career ERA pitcher of over 5.00 before joining the Yankees.

Matt Blake has already signed an extension with New York as he continues to work his magic, making career journeymen / below average pitchers have their best season(s).

The New York Yankees have had the fifth-lowest team ERA since 2020, with a 3.73 team ERA in 776 games. New York pitching also holds the fourth-highest pitching strikeouts since 2020 (7,087), second-highest number of shutouts (7) and fifth-highest K/9 (9.27).

*Stats as of 6/14/25

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