The New York Yankees are already facing some significant adversity this spring. Their starting rotation has been decimated by injuries.
Luis Gil is out until at least June with a lat strain, while Gerrit Cole is lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery. It would certainly be smart for the Yankees to try and make a trade to bolster their rotation and get them by until Gil returns.
However, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com noted that general manager Brian Cashman isn’t planning on adding any pitchers as of right now.
“Brian Cashman said ‘very little is available’ in the pitching marketplace at this time of year. Said the Yankees will ‘rely on what we have’ while exploring outside opportunities. Luxury tax penalties make it ‘less likely’ they will add from outside,” Hoch tweeted.
This is a risky approach for the Yankees. While there isn’t much left on the free agent market, they could still make a trade. Adding somebody like Sandy Alcantara, Michael King or Dylan Cease is unlikely, but pitchers such as Jordan Montgomery and Erick Fedde could certainly help the Yankees out.
They need somebody to cover innings until Gil returns in June, and relying on what they already have is certainly a bold choice.
They still have Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Marcus Stroman, but the rotation isn’t nearly as strong as it would have been with both Cole and Gil active to start the season.
It will be interesting to see if this approach works for New York.
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