The New York Yankees were recently eliminated from the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Rays. It was in the American League Division Series, and a lack of depth in both the starting rotation and the bullpen were among the primary culprits.
Behind ace Gerrit Cole, the Yankees just didn’t have enough reliable starters to overcome the Rays and their boatload of options both in the rotation and in the bullpen. Masahiro Tanaka wasn’t sharp in the ALDS, Deivi Garcia was barely deployed and J.A. Happ failed in his “bulk” reliever appearance in Game 2.
Injuries robbed the New York Yankees the chance of having two top-tier starters in the playoffs this year: James Paxton and Luis Severino. The latter didn’t even pitch during the regular season, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in February and was lost for 2020 even before the pandemic entered the scenario.
What will the Yankees’ rotation next year?
Regarding his availability for 2021, Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman offered some news. Whether they are good or bad would depend on when you were expecting the team to have Severino back.
Severino has been throwing from 90 feet in his rehabilitation from the dreaded surgery, according to what Brian Cashman said Wednesday.
The right-hander, per Cashman, will return around June or July 2021. There is a possibility that the Yankees’ talented hurler is held back until after the All-Star break, which gives the team some sense of urgency at the time of addressing the rotation during this offseason.
Paxton, Happ and Tanaka will all hit free agency after the 2020 World Series. Cole, Garcia, Clarke Schmidt, Jordan Montgomery and Domingo German are currently in the Yankees’ plans to be members of next year’s rotation, barring an acquisition or three. If healthy, Severino will represent a huge boost for the Yankees’ chances of making a deep October run in 2021.