The New York Yankees have only played a few spring training games and the fans are already panicking. A few weeks ago, it was announced that James Paxton was going to be out until June. Earlier this week, it was announced that Luis Severino will have to have Tommy John and miss the entire 2020 season. I wrote an article a few weeks ago that was initially going to be titled “Four Fifteen Game Winners“. This article talked about how James Paxton and Severino would both be above the fifteen win mark. However, before I could publish the article, Paxton got hurt. Now, Severino is done for the year. The Yankees were trying to deal J.A. Happ in December, but now are thanking their lucky stars that they didn’t. So, is it panic time in the Bronx?
I don’t think it’s time for the Yankees to panic. The Yankees are still going to throw out arguably the best pitcher in the game on opening day in Gerrit Cole. The Yankees have one of the more reliable and crafty starters in the league following him in Masahiro Tanaka. After that, we do get a little dicey. J.A. Happ will slide into the third spot in the rotation for now. If Happ can resemble the way he looked in September last year, nobody should have a problem with that. However, if he’s the Happ that we saw for the majority of 2019, it might get rough. Following Happ, you’ll see Jordan Montgomery. Gumby was on pace to be one of the better pitchers in a Yankees rotation prior to him going down with Tommy John early in the 2018 season. If he can return to form, the New York Yankees should have a very solid 1-4 in the rotation assuming Happ can return to decent form. The fifth spot is the biggest question mark at this point. Paxton, Severino, and Domingo German are not options due to injuries and suspensions. I personally don’t think the Yankees will throw one of their top two pitching prospects (Clarke Schmidt & Deivi Garcia) into the fifth spot just yet. Instead, I think the Yankees will try a couple of different pitchers. I know it’s been mentioned, but I think Luis Cessa stays in the bullpen. I think that is where he is best utilized. I think the last spot, for now, will come down to a battle of Mike King and Jonathan Loaisiga. If I had to put money on it, I’d lean a little towards Loaisiga, but it will just come down to who performs better in the spring. I really like Mike King, but I think the starting experience at the MLB level would give Loaisiga the nod as of right now.
The New York Yankees are going to be fine at the end of the day. James Paxton is going to be back before the All Star Break, and we are going to see Domingo German as well. If Paxton can return to the same form he did last year, the Yankees are still going to be in much better shape heading into October in 2020 than they were last year. Essentially sub in Cole for Severino and the Yankees will have a choice of Happ, Montgomery, or German for a fourth starter. Losing Severino for the year definitely hurts, but, I still think the Yankees are the favorites to win the whole damn thing in 2020.