At one point in 2025, it appeared that the New York Yankees would field the deepest and most talented rotation in the American League.
Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Max Fried formed a fierce trio atop the pitching staff, with reigning AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt behind them. Marcus Stroman and Will Warren were gearing up to be enviable depth options.
Well, so much for that idea. Cole is out for the season after undergoing the dreaded Tommy John surgery. Gil is on the 60-day IL with a lat strain that offers no clear timetable for a return. Schmidt is mercifully back after tending to shoulder troubles in March and April, though it's not promising that he's struggling to the tune of a 5.52 ERA in his first three starts.
For good measure, Stroman is also on the IL, though he wasn't exactly making a positive impression in his limited time on the field.
All of that attrition has forced the Yankees' hand, requiring that they give players like Allan Winans multiple turns through the rotation. Now, New York has finally pulled the plug on its worst starter, though releasing Carlos Carrasco hardly solves their pitching depth problems.
Yankees release Carlos Carrasco, are still looking for dependable No. 5 starter
Carrasco, 38, made eight appearances (six starts) for the Yankees this year, though his 5.91 ERA and 1.531 WHIP weren't exactly positive contributions. He posted net-negative value according to both Baseball Reference (-0.4 bWAR) and FanGraphs (-0.1 fWAR).
Save for Rodón and Fried, the Yankees' rotation has been a disaster this year. Both Schmidt and Warren have inflated ERAs above 5.50.
With Gil still months away from returning — and no hope of Cole saving the day — the Yankees find themselves in a tough situation. The bullpen, not including disastrous trade acquisition Devin Williams, has mostly been good. But the lineup, like the rotation, is incredibly top-heavy.
Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, and Paul Goldschmidt have combined for 6.7 fWAR. The rest of the starting lineup is at 1.8.
Rodón and Fried have combined for two wins above replacement. The rest of the starting rotation, including guys like Carrasco, Winans, and Stroman, has provided neutral value (i.e., 0.0 WAR).
Hopefully the Yankees don't have short-term amnesia, because they learned just last year that the stars-and-scrubs approach isn't going to work agains the kings of the National League. The Dodgers are as good as ever this year, and they're joined by the likes of the Padres, Giants, Diamondbacks, Mets, Cubs, and maybe Phillies in the better-than-anyone-in-the-AL class of teams in the senior circuit.
It doesn't matter how they do it. It doesn't even matter what it costs — the American League is that wide-open in 2025. The Yankees just desperately need to bring in some actual reinforcements, before the band-aids they've deployed sink their season.