The New York Yankees are hoping to avoid getting swept by their AL East rivals in the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. Ahead of the series finale, the Yankees made a bullpen move, bringing up a fresh arm from Triple-A while placing the struggling Albert Abreu on the 15-day IL. The Yankees announced that filling Abreu's void on the roster will be right-hander Luke Bard, prompting some frustrated responses from the rightfully impatient fan base.

While Bard isn't a bad choice to add to the big-league bullpen, Yankees fans have been clamoring for the team to bring another top farmhand up from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Clarke Schmidt has been lights out of late and already has a track record of success in the big leagues. Despite that, the Yankees opted against bringing up the 26-year-old, settling instead on promoting the 31-year-old Bard, prompting some disappointed replies from Yankee fans.

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Bard hasn't pitched a single inning for the Yankees in 2022. He was DFA'd by the Tampa Bay Rays earlier in the year after making eight relief appearances and registering a 1.93 ERA. He struck out just eight batters in 14.0 innings and walked seven in that span. His 3.91 FIP suggests he was getting a bit lucky on the mound, too, during his time with the Rays. At Triple-A, Bard made just a few appearances before this call-up, but in his small sample logged a 5.79 ERA.

As for Schmidt, he has made 16 appearances for the Yankees in 2022, registering a 2.40 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 30 innings, working as everything from a starting pitcher to a three-inning closer. Schmidt has also started eight games in Triple-A, striking out 46 batters in 33 innings while maintaining a 3.27 ERA.

It's clear that Schmidt is the people's choice, but that hasn't swayed the Yankees to bring him back up. It's possible the team is stretching him out in order to bring him back up as a starting pitcher down the stretch, but fans are eager to see Schmidt back in pinstripes given the Yankees' recent struggles.