The reliever who will be tasked with getting some of the biggest outs of the playoffs for the Yankees was just a waiver claim eating innings last September.
By January, he was a $2 million flier re-signed for starting depth and by March, he made the Opening Day roster as a long man.
But now in October, Luke Weaver has emerged as the biggest weapon in the Yankees bullpen, one who has effectively taken over the closer’s job and will remain there in the postseason, unless they need him with the game on the line before the ninth inning.
“I know I surprised the world a little bit, but I feel like this game’s hard,” Weaver said Tuesday before a workout at Yankee Stadium ahead of the ALDS beginning on Saturday. “This game comes with a lot of success and a lot of failure. In my account, the failure has definitely filled up a lot of the chapters. But it was for good reason.
“It’s prepared me for this moment to allow me to pitch in a city like this with a team that’s as good as they are and to hopefully be a key piece down the stretch here. Definitely had confidence in myself, but it was long, long-awaited.”
Ten years removed from being a first-round pick of the Cardinals out of Florida State, the 31-year-old Weaver has found his niche.
He finished the regular season with a 2.89 ERA and 103 strikeouts across 84 innings.
For a bullpen that lost Michael King in the Juan Soto trade last offseason, Weaver is the closest thing to King the Yankees had this season, an arm who could go multiple innings and eventually close out games once manager Aaron Boone removed Clay Holmes from closing duties in the first week of September.
After successfully converting his first career save opportunity on Sept. 6 at Wrigley Field, Weaver finished the year without allowing an earned run across eight appearances and 11 innings while striking out 24 and walking three, with four saves.
“He’s a better pitcher than he’s probably ever been in his life, and that’s a credit to him for some of the adjustments he’s made and how he’s embraced going to the bullpen,” Boone said Tuesday. “But he’s had an outstanding season.
Whatever role I’ve put him in, he’s flourished. Like a lot of our guys do, he likes the competition and he likes the action. We’re about to get into some.”
To get to this point, Weaver transformed himself as a pitcher.
During the winter, he had what he called an “offseason stumble-upon” when he changed his delivery, eliminating his leg kick to use more of a slide step.
The early returns were not great in spring training, to the point where Boone was wondering if it was actually going to work, before the right-hander finished camp strong to win a roster spot.
In the long run, the mechanical tweak has allowed him to recover better and has led to the healthiest season of his career.
Weaver also changed the grip on his four-seam fastball, which allowed the pitch to gain some more life — it averaged 95.7 mph this season compared to 94 mph last year.
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As a result, it generated more swing-and-miss and led to less pitches getting fouled off, allowing him to be more efficient. It is a big reason for his 33.5 whiff percentage, much higher than his 24.3 percent career rate.
Weaver’s athleticism has helped him adapt on the mound, but so have the mental scars from struggling earlier in his career.
“[Mental toughness is] built in, my friend,” Weaver said. “You get kicked in the teeth enough times and you got to get back up. You got to drive home, you got to face your family, you got to be a dad, you got to be a husband, you got to be a friend — all these things. Coming to the park every day when you’re unsuccessful is one of the hardest things to do.”
Weaver has not had many of those days this year, and he said he has taken some moments during the season to appreciate what he’s doing.
But now comes the ultimate test: the postseason, when Weaver will be called on for outs with the season on the line.
“I hope I don’t do the blackout thing I had mentioned,” Weaver said, referring to his first save against the Cubs. “But I do know my heartbeat’s going to be up. It’s going to be inevitable. … At the end of the day, I pray it goes well, but I gotta trust what I do out there and the result is hopefully in my favor.”
