On Thursday afternoon, the New York Yankees faced off against the Philadelphia Phillies, dropping the game 5–3. With just one week left until opening day on April 7, the Yankees have found themselves in a tough position regarding the starting pitching rotation.
Pitching has been difficult this spring, as former Pittsburgh Pirates and trade acquisition from 2021, Jamison Taillon, took the mound in the loss. Taillon has made two starts this spring, hosting a 4.76 ERA with five hits and one home run allowed. The sample size of just 5.2 innings is nothing to write home about, but he gave up four hits, and three earned runs over 3.2 innings against the Phillies, who featured the majority of their starters.
Good News:
The good news revolves predominately around individual performances, specifically Miguel Andujar, who recorded two hits and an RBI over four at-bats, and several relief pitchers. Wandy Peralta, Lucas Luetge, and Joely Rodriguez pitched nearly three combined innings, striking out three batters and giving up one hit.
Andújar has had a solid spring this year, hitting a collective .316 with six hits and one homer over 19 at-bats. General manager Brian Cashman could still leverage the defensive liability in a potential trade, but his value isn’t near where it once was when he dominated back in 2018.
Bad News:
Once again, the pitching was lackluster for the Bombers, as Taillon and Michael King gave up a collective five runs and nine hits over six innings. Both pitchers struggled considerably, and while they are still ramping up and getting a bit of momentum, justifying their deficiencies, it has been disappointing to see the starting rotation struggle to this degree.
Cashman may be concerned about his starters at this point, which could fuel a potential trade this season, but the team did get a bit of good news regarding Luis Severino and the general soreness he sustained after his last outing. Severino pitched 31 pitches in a bullpen session on Wednesday, providing a bit of optimism that he will be back in action shortly.