Having a true No. 1 ace in the starting pitching rotation is already a rare thing in Major League Baseball. Having arguably the best pitcher in baseball and two top-level starters right behind him seems ludicrous, and for the New York Yankees, that’s their reality.
Signing Gerrit Cole to a nine-year, $324 million contract solidified the Yankees’ starting rotation beyond Luis Severino and James Paxton.
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner stated before the offseason that he would be satisfied with the starting pitching rotation with Jordan Montgomery returning.
“For the most part, I think our starting pitching was good this year,’’ Steinbrenner said. “Even missing [Luis] Severino and [Jordan] Montgomery [for most or all of the season due to injuries].â€
“If the 2020 season was to start tomorrow, I would feel considerably more confident than I did a year ago at this time,’’ Steinbrenner said. “We will have both Severino and Montgomery back. We now know that [Domingo] German can pitch effectively at this level. And we know [James] Paxton can be the guy that we were hoping for when we made that trade. We have [Masahiro] Tanaka, [J.A.] Happ, [Jonathan] Loaisiga, and perhaps [Deivi] Garcia at some point. A very good rotation.’’
The New York Yankees now enter the 2020 season with an intimidating group:
- Gerrit Cole
- Luis Severino
- James Paxton
- Masahiro Tanaka
- Jordan Montgomery
- J.A. Happ
- Domingo German (after suspension)
- Michael King
It’s possible the Yankees trade Happ in the coming weeks, as his $17 million salary will put the Yanks further in luxury tax hell, and considering his awful 2019 season, he’s expendable. The return of Montgomery should provide a reliable replacement for Happ.
However, I’m most excited about the unit’s postseason dominance, as Cole, who dominated during the 2019 playoffs, will now be the Yankees’ premier starter.
Four-man rotation postseason statistics (2019):
Gerrit Cole: 1.47 ERA, 36.2 innings, 21 hits, 4 HRs
Luis Severino: 2.07 ERA, 8.1 innings, 9 hits, 2 HRs
James Paxton: 3.97 ERA, 12.3 innings, 13 hits, 2 HRs
Masahiro Tanaka: 2.12 ERA, 16 innings, 8 hits, 1 HR
Combined, the four pitchers had a 2.40 ERA in 2019, and this was Paxton’s first postseason appearance (he had the highest ERA of the group). With Paxton earning a few playoff innings, he should see an increase in efficiency moving forward (assumption).
Beyond these four options, the Bombers have plenty of support if they need it. German had a great second season, and Montgomery earned a sub-.400 ERA in his first two professional seasons. To summarize, the Yankees have a genuinely unfair starting rotation.