Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil were supposed to anchor the Yankees rotation with new signee Max Fried.
Instead, New York’s starting pitching is falling apart.
Cole is out for the year. Gil still has a month-plus before his return. Clarke Schmidt is still on minor-league rehab. And the guys out there on the hill have really struggled.
Carlos Carrasco, a 38-year old journeyman who was terrible each of the last two years in other stops, was the latest reminder of the struggles.
He allowed four runs in 4.1 innings at Detroit on Tuesday. That included three home runs in the fourth inning alone.
Carrasco’s season ERA is now 7.71. Will Warren’s is 6.00. Carlos Rodon’s is 5.19. Marcus Stroman’s is 7.27.
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The only starting rotation bright spot has been Fried, whose 2.61 ERA through two starts has marked a solid start to his Yankees tenure.
The others haven’t delivered. Rodon was the Opening Day starter and was supposed to be counted on.
But in a healthy rotation, it’s likely that none of Stroman, Carrasco or Warren would’ve been full-time starters.
The Yankees will get a bit healthier when Schmidt completes his rehab, and eventually if Gil can make it back.
But this is starting pitching in the big leagues in 2025. Guys get hurt. You need backup plans.
Clearly, the Yankees’ backup plans have not been good enough.
Do they have enough to trade for Sandy Alcantara? Sure, if they’re willing to pay up.
Maybe Luis Castillo of the Mariners or Freddy Peralta of the Brewers could be had.
But whoever it is, the Yankees need to try something. On days where their bats (and torpedoes) don’t show up, like these last two cold ones in Detroit, the starting pitching needs to be better.
The answers are either on the Injured List or on other teams.
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