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NEW YORK – The extremes in the Yankees’ rotation were on display in Detroit.
After Carlos Carrasco gave up three home runs and couldn’t get past the fifth inning Tuesday, Max Fried delivered seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts on Wednesday against the Tigers.
Fried’s outing represented the Yankees’ first quality start – at least six innings, minimum three earned runs – in their first dozen games of 2025.
As Yankees captain Aaron Judge reminded everyone, “no one can replace Gerrit Cole,’’ but Fried’s ability to move “into our rotation and kind of pick up that slack for Cole has been incredible.’’
But it’s not just Cole’s absence, lost for the year due to Tommy John surgery, that’s a concern.
Luis Gil (lat strain) is set to resume throwing this week, but he might not factor into the rotation until July, when the Yankees should be actively shopping for one or two impact starters.
Entering Friday night’s weekend home series against the San Francisco Giants, the Yankees starters’ 4.79 ERA ranked 11th among AL teams, and they’ve yielded walks and home runs above the league average.
Veteran lefty Carlos Rodon is off to a bumpy start, having yielded 10 earned runs across 17.1 innings in his first three starts, with a league-high nine walks.
"I'm definitely tired of walking people,'' Rodon said after a taking the loss against the Tigers on a frigid Monday afternoon in Detroit. "It's frustrating. I don’t want to give up free bases.''
But there should be some immediate rotation help on the way.
Clarke Schmidt made his second minor league rehab start Thursday, tossing four scoreless innings prior to his anticipated return to the Yankees' rotation.
Delayed at the start of spring training due to a back issue, Schmidt developed shoulder fatigue in mid-March and was brought along gradually.
‘Not 100 percent’: Yankees’ new closer Devin Williams searching to find his All-Star level
What began as surplus of Yankees starters in camp - with Marcus Stroman's situation as the sixth starter in a five-man rotation looking problematic - quickly became a deficit.
That opened a path for Stroman, rookie Will Warren, and the veteran Carrasco, a non-roster invitee who had a good spring.
The Yankees also didn't have much big-league ready rotation depth in camp, and Carrasco - who just turned 38 - was viewed as a placeholder until Schmidt or Gil returned.
But Carrasco had posted a combined 6.18 ERA over the previous two seasons with the Cleveland Guardians and the Mets, and his early results in pinstripes haven't provided much comfort.
In his first three appearances (two starts), Carrasco has yielded 10 earned runs in 11.2 innings, and he's surrendered a league-leading four home runs.
Warren, 25, showed improved mastery of his secondary pitches and a more aggressive approach in spring training, having benefitted from last year's rough six-game debut (10.32 ERA) in the majors.
But is he ready to be a relied-upon member of a pennant contender right now?
Warren has yielded six earned runs across nine innings in his first two starts. What makes him more vulnerable to being bumped from the rotation is Yanks' ability to option him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Carrasco would have to be designated for assignment, and potentially lost to another club, so sending Warren to the minors might be the temporary option upon Schmidt's return.
Barring any rainouts, Schmidt was due to slot back into the Yankees' rotation either April 15 or 16 against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: How Clarke Schmidt return from injury impacts Yankees rotation
Continue reading...
After Carlos Carrasco gave up three home runs and couldn’t get past the fifth inning Tuesday, Max Fried delivered seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts on Wednesday against the Tigers.
Fried’s outing represented the Yankees’ first quality start – at least six innings, minimum three earned runs – in their first dozen games of 2025.
As Yankees captain Aaron Judge reminded everyone, “no one can replace Gerrit Cole,’’ but Fried’s ability to move “into our rotation and kind of pick up that slack for Cole has been incredible.’’
But it’s not just Cole’s absence, lost for the year due to Tommy John surgery, that’s a concern.
Luis Gil (lat strain) is set to resume throwing this week, but he might not factor into the rotation until July, when the Yankees should be actively shopping for one or two impact starters.
Yankees' rotation decision looming
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Entering Friday night’s weekend home series against the San Francisco Giants, the Yankees starters’ 4.79 ERA ranked 11th among AL teams, and they’ve yielded walks and home runs above the league average.
Veteran lefty Carlos Rodon is off to a bumpy start, having yielded 10 earned runs across 17.1 innings in his first three starts, with a league-high nine walks.
"I'm definitely tired of walking people,'' Rodon said after a taking the loss against the Tigers on a frigid Monday afternoon in Detroit. "It's frustrating. I don’t want to give up free bases.''
But there should be some immediate rotation help on the way.
Clarke Schmidt made his second minor league rehab start Thursday, tossing four scoreless innings prior to his anticipated return to the Yankees' rotation.
Delayed at the start of spring training due to a back issue, Schmidt developed shoulder fatigue in mid-March and was brought along gradually.
‘Not 100 percent’: Yankees’ new closer Devin Williams searching to find his All-Star level
What began as surplus of Yankees starters in camp - with Marcus Stroman's situation as the sixth starter in a five-man rotation looking problematic - quickly became a deficit.
That opened a path for Stroman, rookie Will Warren, and the veteran Carrasco, a non-roster invitee who had a good spring.
The Yankees also didn't have much big-league ready rotation depth in camp, and Carrasco - who just turned 38 - was viewed as a placeholder until Schmidt or Gil returned.
But Carrasco had posted a combined 6.18 ERA over the previous two seasons with the Cleveland Guardians and the Mets, and his early results in pinstripes haven't provided much comfort.
In his first three appearances (two starts), Carrasco has yielded 10 earned runs in 11.2 innings, and he's surrendered a league-leading four home runs.
Warren, 25, showed improved mastery of his secondary pitches and a more aggressive approach in spring training, having benefitted from last year's rough six-game debut (10.32 ERA) in the majors.
But is he ready to be a relied-upon member of a pennant contender right now?
Warren has yielded six earned runs across nine innings in his first two starts. What makes him more vulnerable to being bumped from the rotation is Yanks' ability to option him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Carrasco would have to be designated for assignment, and potentially lost to another club, so sending Warren to the minors might be the temporary option upon Schmidt's return.
Barring any rainouts, Schmidt was due to slot back into the Yankees' rotation either April 15 or 16 against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: How Clarke Schmidt return from injury impacts Yankees rotation
Continue reading...
