Having a strong starting pitching rotation is always a benefit in baseball, and the New York Yankees have a stellar group of players when factoring out injuries.
In a perfect world, the Yankees would have Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, Jordan Montgomery, and J.A. Happ as their top options. Since perfect seems to be a word unimaginable at the moment, Severino will not pitch in 2020 due to Tommy John surgery, and Paxton is still recovering from surgery on his lower back this off-season.
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With the regular season cut down to 60 games and the active roster expanded to 30 players, the Yankees have a few difficult decisions to make on who they will include on opening day in just a few weeks.
The team has been hosting intrasquad exhibition games to iron out their best players. Experimenting throughout the season is no longer an option. One player who could make the roster is Deivi Garcia.
Deivi Garcia is looking good so far
Ranked as the No. 65 prospect by Baseball America, Garcia has incredible talent that can be maximized with live reps. The right-handed starter was used uniquely on Thursday night.
Instead of utilizing Garcia as a relief option, the Yankees opened with him, as he posted a 1-2-3 inning. He struck out Gary Sanchez, swinging on a high fastball.
The young Dominican Republic native spent time with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Trenton, and Tampa in 2019. He posted a collective 4.28 ERA with five wins and nine losses. He dominated in the lower level minors, but struggled in AAA, posting a 5.40 ERA.
However, Garcia is more than capable of facing off against Major League batters. He just needs the experience. If the Yankees elect to use him similar to Chad Green as an opener, he could benefit from the starting experience. While it would be a bit more experimental given the condensed schedule, he is a rising star within the ranks, and giving him an opportunity was only a matter of time.