By Peter Chawaga

Copyright newsweek

The New York Yankees suffered a shutout loss to the Minnesota Twins on Monday and it included a brutal performance from one player in particular.Reliever Luke Weaver took the mound in the seventh inning and proceeded to give up five earned runs, intensifying questions about his ability to handle meaningful innings in a potential playoff run.After the game, Weaver didn’t mince words about his struggles.”Yeah, that was trash,” the reliever told reporters, per Max Goodman of NJ.com.After taking on the closer role for the Yankees’ postseason journey all the way to the World Series last year, Weaver was poised to serve as the team’s closer or a setup man for Devin Williams this year. Instead, he’s struggled and holds a 3.97 ERA so far.However, the Yankees might have little choice but to rely on him for some high-leverage innings in the postseason. David Bednar seems to have seized the closer’s role, but virtually all of the other bullpen arms are questionable. And Weaver’s velocity and mechanics don’t seem far off.All-Star southpaw Carlos Rodon, who started Monday’s game, described Weaver’s outing with two choice words that demonstrate continued faith in the reliever: “Good fastball,” Rodon said, according to Goodman.”The stuff is there,” Rodon added, per Goodman. “Good life. Profile is good, changeup is good. Cutter is good. I mean, it’s just going out there and competing and just kind of turning the page from (Monday). Next time he goes out there, puts up a zero.”Rodon seems confident that Weaver will bounce back to his best form in the near future. However, the results so far this season might give fans some reason for pause.Still, the Yankees have little choice but to continue giving Weaver opportunities to bounce back and find his rhythm before the playoffs.More MLB: Dodgers’ Likely Roki Sasaki Roster Decision Revealed by MLB Insider