One Yankee Who Should Be Thrilled About Matt Blake's Extension

The New York Yankees made one of their most important moves before the offseason even began by re-signing pitching coach Matt Blake to a three-year contract.

Given that the Yankees' pitching staff was arguably the best in baseball this season, keeping Blake around needed to be a top priority. Fortunately, the two sides agreed to a deal, and the Yankees should expect more of the same success from Blake over the next three seasons.

Since 2020, Blake has made the Yankees' pitching lab among the most analytically driven and cutting-edge in the game. Cast-offs like Clay Holmes, Nestor Cortes Jr., Tim Hill, Luke Weaver, Brent Headrick, and Paul Blackburn transformed into quality arms in the rotation or bullpen; Headrick and Blackburn were two noteworthy examples this season.

As for developing internal talent, look no further than Cam Schlittler, who is a lock to win the AL Cy Young Award.

That said, one Yankees pitcher in particular should be especially excited to continue working with Blake. That pitcher is the talented yet enigmatic right-hander Will Warren.

How Matt Blake's return significantly helps Will Warren

Warren is still looking to reach his full potential as he enters 2027, which will be his fourth big-league season.

The now 27-year-old has shown flashes of brilliance in 2025 and 2026, yet also looked entirely ineffective during other stretches. This year, Warren started and finished strong. He posted a 3.22 ERA in his first 12 appearances and a 2.12 ERA over his last seven, which included two relief appearances. However, the righty registered a ghastly 5.77 ERA in 13 appearances (12 starts) from June 8 to August 19.

In both seasons, Warren was more effective against right-handed batters than left-handed batters, struggling immensely against the latter. Yet he tends to get hit hard regardless, surrendering over 20 home runs across both campaigns.

Warren would likely prefer to remain a starting pitcher, as would the Yankees, due to his stable role as a back-end arm. But under Blake's guidance, perhaps Warren can shift to a relief role if he still can't find consistency as a starter.

The Yankees experimented with Warren as a relief pitcher late in the season, and he looked effective. Over 6.2 innings, he didn't allow a run, gave up just four hits, and struck out eight while walking only two.

Nonetheless, Warren's role with the Yankees is unclear. He has the stamina to make deep starts, yet his pitches looked more dynamic in relief. The good news is that Warren will work with Blake to figure out that ideal fit.

Where Blake excels is identifying a pitcher's strength and harnessing it to the best of their ability. Examples include Blackburn dominating righties with his sinker and lefties with his changeup, Weaver paring down his arsenal to emphasize a lively fastball-changeup combo, and Holmes adding more velocity to his heavy sinker. Therefore, the goal with Warren is to find that plus pitch and then exploit it.

Warren clearly has talent that makes him more capable than the average fifth starter. Hopefully, having Blake at his side can help him realize it.

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