The Yankees’ starting rotation has already been a victim of the latest injury bug to go around the organization. James Paxton will miss at least the first month of the season, and Luis Severino will not see any action this upcoming season due to Tommy John Surgery.
The latest trade rumors for the Yankees involve Arizona’s Robbie Ray and San Francisco’s Jeff Samardzija, but there may not be any need to even look outside of what the Yankees already have.
Brian Cashman and his staff did a phenomenal job last off-season putting together a team with lots of depth. Those players developed well, leading the Yankees to 103 wins with a roster comprised of many Triple-A level players.
So why not stick with what worked last year?
An obvious answer is that they are not going to be able to duplicate the statistics from last year, which may be a fair point to make. However, the Yankees still have one of the better pitching staffs in all of baseball. The starting rotation, as of Feb. 28, consists of Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, and J.A. Happ as the definite three starters. Jordan Montgomery is showing positive signs, and will probably see himself in that rotation too.
The main point of interest is who the fifth starter will be. Well, there are plenty of candidates that may take that spot, including players with Major League experience.
A couple of names that come to mind instantly are Jonathan Loaisiga and Luis Cessa. Loaisiga is seen more of a starter and Cessa is more of a reliever. Even if the Yankees wanted to try something where they each throw three or four innings every five days, this could be a plan that could just help them for a month until Paxton returns.
Another option is to look at the up and coming prospects in the farm system. Deivi Garcia, Michael King, Brooks Kriske, Clarke Schmidt and Albert Abreu are all names that could find themselves in a big role for the first month if Loaisiga or Cessa are not assigned a starting role. It could be another “Next Man Up” season, so one or more of these players may find themselves in the Bronx before the conclusion of the 2020 season regardless.
The Yankees may feel that adding a veteran pitcher will add depth in case of another injury to the pitching staff. But there is no need to look any further than what is in their own backyard.
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