New York Yankees: Corey Kluber is only a start

The Yankees’ acquisition of Corey Kluber is merely a start to solidifying the rotation. It is by no means the final piece.

Amid reports the New York Yankees have signed former Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, it would give the Yankees another option toward putting together their rotation for 2021.

As it stands, New York’s starting staff consists of the following options:

While the options appear plentiful, the quantity does in no way secure the quality of the rotation.

There were few better in baseball than Kluber from 2014-18. He averaged 17 victories, a 2.85 ERA, 218 innings and 246 strikeouts per year over that five-season span. This included two Cy Young awards (2014 and 2017). However, shoulder and oblique issues have limited the 34-year-old righty to just 36 innings since the start of 2019.

Severino was the ace of the Yankees for a two-year period from 2017-18. He averaged 16 wins, a 3.18 ERA and 225 strikeouts per season during that stretch. However, Severino is not expected back until mid-season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. He’s been limited to just 12 innings since the start of 2019.

New York isn’t likely to overload the young righty in his first year back from injury. I wouldn’t expect a lot of deep starts from Severino in 2021.

German will be in play for 2021. He missed all of the 2020 season after being suspended for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. German was reinstated by MLB in October after completing his 81-game suspension. However, owner Hal Steinbrenner said on ESPN Radio’s “The Michael Kay Show,” later that month, in regards to a German return:

"“I have to absolutely feel comfortable that he deeply, deeply regrets and is sorry for what he did, and I absolutely have to be comfortable with the fact that he’s turned his life around…”"

German won 18 games for the Yanks in 2019, but his return (let alone a return to his 2019 form) is far from a sure thing.

Montgomery is the lone lefty in the rotation at this point. From 2017-18, he posted a 3.84 ERA, had a 116 ERA+ and averaged 8.2 K/9 in 182.2 innings. Most of those innings came in 2017. He’s pitched just 75.1 innings since the start of 2018 due to Tommy John surgery.

Since returning from the surgery, Montgomery’s posted a 5.25 ERA in 48 innings. When healthy, he’s a solid 4-5 starter in any rotation. The problem (like Kluber and Severino) is he can’t stay healthy enough to be in the rotation.

I’m going to lump Schmidt, Garcia and King together. I’ll start with the latter of the three. King is a fastball pitcher (he threw it 65.5 percent of the time last season, according to Baseball Savant). He’s a good young arm (25 years old; averaged 93.1 MPH on his fastball in 2020), but is more of a long reliever/opener candidate in the Bronx.

If he’s in the rotation, that means either Kluber is hurt, Severino isn’t back yet, German didn’t return or any combination of the three.

Schmidt and Garcia are ranked the top two pitching prospects in the Yankees’ system, according to MLBpipeline.com. Each had a limited role for New York in 2020. As things stand, each will compete for a spot in the rotation. I would even expect Garcia, despite being 21 years old, to have a role with the back-end of the staff come Opening Day.

But, that’s far from a guarantee. And — just like Severino — I don’t expect the Yankees to push young arms after pitching limited seasons in 2020.

With the Tampa Bay Rays a shell of themselves after losing Blake Snell and Charlie Morton, the Yankees have an easier path to the postseason than they had in previous years. Having a decent rotation will be a big part in whether or not they reach their goals. A bullpen — no matter how great — will tire out by season’s end.

And as the Yankees have proven in the playoffs over the last two years, you can’t rely on relievers to pitch three days in a row when they haven’t done so all season. You need a strong staff — one that pitches deep into games and allows the pen to be ready when called upon. It can’t be the other way around. World Series glory is not given to weak rotations and openers.

Despite the current depth, one injury (heaven forbid a Cole injury) will put this club out of commission. I understand the Yankees just reportedly spent $90 million on DJ LeMahieu and $11 million on Kluber. It’s not enough. Not with the pieces currently in play.

If everything goes right, the Yankees are a championship club. But, as 2020 proved in abundance, since when does everything (anything) go right?