About Spring Training: Games That Count

About Spring Training: Games That Count

By Tim Kabel

March 22, 2026

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Today is March 21st. The Yankees open their season in four days against the Giants in San Francisco. The Spring Training games will end on the 24th against the Cubs. As the saying goes, the Yankees will then begin playing “games that count”. But do they? Do the games in April really count as much as the games in September when everything is on the line?

The Yankees will play 162 regular season games this season. I contend that every single game is of equal importance in the standings. Sure, a win against the team you are fighting for the division is important because you gain a full game in the standings with every victory. However, the key to success and to winning the division is to accumulate as many wins as possible. That's it, plain and simple.

If that is the case, the Yankee should do everything they can to win each and every game. I honestly don't believe they are setting themselves up to do that. The point that I am making is that when you look at the construction of the roster, the Yankees do not appear to be putting themselves in the best position to win. They seem like they are playing the long game, focusing on the whole season and games deeper into the summer. The Yankees fully plan to have Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon in the starting rotation as soon as possible. It's the “as soon as possible” that's the question mark. Cole threw one inning in Spring Training and will continue working toward a return to the rotation in late May or early June. Rodon is supposedly scheduled to return sooner than Cole but hasn't even thrown a single inning in Spring Training.

It appears that the Yankees will be putting out a starting rotation of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Luis Gil, and Ryan Weathers. Max Fried is a proven ace. He pitched very well for the Yankees last year. Cam Schlittler appears as if he will be pitching at the level of an ace fairly soon. However, due to his injury concerns or, health concerns at the beginning of the Spring Training, he will not be able to pitch as deep into games at the beginning of the season as the other starters. That will force a reliance on the bullpen. Will Warren seems as if he will be a solid member of the starting rotation. Luis Gil was the Rookie of the Year in 2024, but has been inconsistent and injury prone since then. He has not pitched particularly well in Spring Training. Ryan Weathers, who was acquired from the Marlins for four minor league prospects has struggled mightily during Spring Training. He was shelled again on Thursday and has an ERA for the spring of 11.68 and a WHIP of 2.11. Yes, he has a lot of strikeouts. But teams don't win games because their pitcher has more strikeouts than the other team’s pitcher.

Having both Gil and Weathers in the starting rotation at the beginning of the season could be problematic for the Yankees. Essentially, 40% of the starting rotation is questionable, if not downright shaky. In Weathers’ case, shaky would be a vast improvement over what he has done so far. That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on Fried, Schlittler, and Warren. It is conceivable that even if those three pitch very well, the Yankees will probably not win every game they pitch. In Schlittler’s case, there will be a heavy reliance on the bullpen, at least at the beginning of the season.

The Yankees do have other options. Unfortunately, on Thursday, they jettisoned one of those options by sending Carlos Lagrange to the minor leagues. While it is conceivable he could be recalled soon, the question is why not give him a chance at the beginning? 

In addition, the Yankees could utilize either Ryan Yarbrough or Paul Blackburn in the rotation at least at the beginning of the season. They have both pitched well in Spring Training and Yarbrough in particular, was solid as a starter for the Yankees last year.

Remember, the Yankees tied for the best record in the American League with the Blue Jays last season. They lost the division because the Blue Jays won their season series against the Yankees. Many of us feel that the Yankees will not be as good this year as they were last year. Therefore, it is important that they not give away games, particularly at the beginning of the season. I think that having both Luis Gil and Ryan Weathers in the starting rotation at the beginning of the season is a mistake. It would make more sense to put Yarbrough in the rotation and let Weathers work his kinks out in the bullpen. It would have made even more sense to keep Lagrange in the Major Leagues and allow Weathers to work his kinks out in the minor leagues, but that decision has already been made.  At least the Yankees did send Angel Chivilli to the minor leagues yesterday, despite the fact that Brian Cashman is convinced he is a “big arm."

Perhaps Ryan Weathers will be a dominant pitcher for the Yankees beginning with his first start. There's not a lot of evidence to support that theory, but it could happen.

However, it seems that the Yankees are taking a risk and since every game counts, even the ones in April, it would be unfortunate if the Yankees fell into a hole early from which they would to have trouble extracting themselves. We will see what happens beginning on the 25^th.