Brent Headrick did not expect this. He did not envision his role being so significant.
Just one pitcher, left-handed reliever Mason Fluharty of the Blue Jays, has appeared in more games (63) than Headrick (62), and Fluharty likely won’t be asked to pitch into October like Headrick.
“If someone said you would have 60 appearances [at this point], I would say you’re crazy,” the lefty said Wednesday before pitching a scoreless eighth inning in the Yankees’ 10-5 win over the Mariners in The Bronx. “It’s awesome. It’s been a wild year, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
The Yankees reliever now has 52 scoreless outings this year, the most in MLB and a franchise record through 120 games. He’s showing no signs of slowing down, allowing three earned runs in his past 30 innings of work. On the season, he has a 1.47 ERA across 61 ¹/₃ innings.
Headrick could set a Yankees record for most pitching appearances in a season. Paul Quantrill owns the No. 1 spot (86) in 2004, and Scott Proctor is No. 2 (83) in 2006. Headrick is on pace to tie Proctor.
Brent Headrick pitched a scoreless eighth inning in the Yankees’ 10-5 win over the Mariners on Aug. 12, 2026 at the Stadium. Robert Sabo for New York Post
“He’s put in the work, the training, that starts in earnest in the winter. A lot of time your winter program sets you up for success during the year. He certainly put in the work,” manager Aaron Boone said before Wednesday night’s win. “Even though he has worked a lot, we at the same time have tried to protect him in certain situations of being disciplined on certain days, of, ‘You’re not available today.’ So [we’re] trying to avoid those situations where he’s too spent and you have to recover too much.
“Ideally you have a slightly less games/innings projection, but we haven’t been afforded that luxury necessarily this year, and he’s taken that on well.”
Headrick said he feels good and isn’t concerned by the heavy workload. He prepared for this season — the first year of his career when he knew he would be a reliever — differently. The Yankees gave him a higher-intensity and higher-frequency workout plan to prepare him for shorter outings after he was often used for multiple innings last season.
“I tried to train with more bursts more often,” he said. “So I’m not building up to 50, 60 pitches like I would as a starter in the offseason. Now I build up to 15 or 20, and do it more often. You’re not throwing as many volume bullpens, so you can throw more often and feel good.”
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It has been a remarkable rise for the 28-year-old. A ninth-round pick in 2019, he was put on waivers in February 2025 and picked up by the Yankees. When he arrived in Tampa, the Yankees told him they saw the southpaw’s future in the bullpen. He has since taken off.
