Last week it came out that New York Yankees pitcher James Paxton will miss the first three to four months of the season with a back injury that requires surgery. General manager Brian Cashman said that the fifth spot in the rotation will be up for grabs to whoever shows they earned the spot.
Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) via Twitter: Cashman said the No. 5 rotation spot will be decided between Jordan Montgomery, Michael King, Jonathan Loaisiga, Luis Cessa & Deivi Garcia, calling it an “open competition.â€
J.A. Happ was expected to be that fifth starter but will now move up to the number four spot. Gerrit Cole and Luis Severino will be numbers one and two and Masahiro Tanaka will take the third spot in the rotation.
Jordan Montgomery is expected to be the one who takes that fifth spot because of his history in the rotation with the Yankees. In 2017, Montgomery started 29 games and finished with a 9-7 record holding a 3.88 ERA. In 155.1 innings pitched, he fanned 144 batters and allowed 21 home runs.
Deivi Garcia also has a big potential to take that spot. He’s been one of the top prospects in the New York Yankees organization and is expected to at least debut this season. Garcia throws a high-heater and his curveball has one of the best spin rates that’s comparable to some of the premier pitchers in the league.
It might be possible that the Yankees will do what they did last year too. They could get by with four starters for some time and have the fifth day be a bullpen game. It was effective last season and could potentially be again this season.