TAMPA — As Fernando Cruz stumbled by means of his first spring coaching with the Yankees, the reliever experimented with nearly every part a pitcher can.
That included the righty’s arsenal, the place he stands on the mound, his mechanics, and whether or not lengthy sleeves may forestall tipping. Nevertheless, Cruz’s greatest change was studying to remain below management on the mound.
That adjustment was impressed by a dialog with bullpen coach Mike Harkey.
“He just talks to me straight up and doesn’t hide anything. He doesn’t go through emotions and anything. He just tells you what you’re doing and exactly what you need to get ready,” Cruz stated. “We had a conversation in spring training that changed everything. We talked about the intent, the effort level when I was throwing, and I think that was the most important change mentally.”
Now Cruz, acquired from the Reds over the offseason, is feeling assured in all his pitches, because the 35-year-old has a 2.53 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 10.2 innings this season after logging 4.1 scoreless frames this week. That features a two-inning save on April 16.
Nevertheless, Cruz’s signature splitter stays his go-to. There’s good purpose for that.
“From behind, it’s just the swings that make it look nasty,” Anthony Volpe stated after Cruz struck out two over a scoreless inning in Friday’s 1-0 win over the Rays. “But I faced him in the spring, and it doesn’t even make sense. You feel like you’re right on it, and you watch the video and you swing and it’s like halfway there.”
“I’ve never seen that many bad swings from good hitters,” Aaron Boone added. “It looks like they’ve never hit before, sometimes, when he executes it.”
Nasty ‘Nando 
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Carlos Rodón, who began Friday’s sport, referred to Cruz’s splitter as a “glitch pitch,” parroting a phrase that Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake utilized in spring coaching. Nevertheless, Rodón famous that the right-handed Cruz just isn’t a one-trick pony.
“It’s just the arm speed and the way it comes out,” Rodón stated, talking of the splitter. “It’s just so hard to make a decision on that pitch the way it floats in. They’re not so sure. I mean, it’s such a nasty pitch. And then he’s got 94, 95 to pair with it. That’s just a deadly combination that he features.”
Cruz’s repertoire additionally features a slider and a sinker — he’s scrapped a cutter — however his splitter has been his most-used pitch by far since he debuted in 2022. Benny Cepeda, a Puerto Rican Winter League teammate, taught Cruz his splitter in 2012.
Now Cruz, initially drafted as a shortstop by the Royals in 2007, calls his splitter “my gift from God.” He’s particularly grateful for it, because the providing helped him escape an extended stretch of solely pitching in international and unbiased leagues.
“I know it looks different than other swings and stuff,” stated Cruz, who dreamed of enjoying for the Yankees as a child rising up in Puerto Rico. “But it makes me really happy, because it just confirms that it’s a gift that I have.”
It’s additionally a present that the Yankees have.
That will not have been instantly clear in spring coaching, as Cruz recorded a 9.95 ERA for his brand-new group. Worrying wasn’t unreasonable, whilst he tinkered.
“We didn’t know him yet, so we’re like, ‘Alright, let’s start working through those things now,’” Boone stated. “And he sure has. He’s been excellent for us.”
That he has.
“I was going through a lot in spring training, but it was a process that I embraced,” Cruz stated. “And now it’s paying off.”
