The New York Yankees are set with their rotation for the 2020 season with the exciting acquisition of arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Gerrit Cole, to head up an already steady rotation. He will head up a rotation of Luis Severino, James Paxton, and Masahiro Tanaka. The fifth spot is a little confused due to the suspension of Domingo German for the first 63 games of the season. Jordan Montgomery or J.A. Happ will fill that slot if he is not traded.
However, German will most likely fill the fifth spot in the rotation upon his return. Beyond that, if any Yankee starter is injured, several pitchers could fill in a make an impact. Jonathan Loaisiga and Micheal King, to name a few. Besides a strong starting rotation, the Yankees are in an advantageous position due to their depth.
Although this article is about starters, one must remember that if any of the starters falter, the Yankees have one of the best bullpens in baseball. They could be looking to strengthen the bullpen even further.
Breaking down the New York Yankees’ starting pitching rotation:
Gerrit Cole: Gerrit Cole has done nothing but get better during his career. With the Pirates for five seasons, he was 59-42, which would be a satisfactory record for a pitcher on any team. After being traded to the Houston Astros in 2018, he would have a breakout season going 15-5 with an ERA of 2.88.
In 2019 he bested that with an additional five wins with the same losses and an improved ERA of 2.50. His ERA was once again improved in the postseason when he lowered it to 1.305 and a record of 4-1. There is no reason to assume he will get less than several wins in the high teens this coming year. If the rest of the pitching staff performs similar as they did last season, that means an additional 3 or 4 wins at the least on the season. If Luis Severino pitches to his capabilities, this could be a year where the Yankees could eclipse the 1998 season.
Luis Severino: Severino, this year, will be coming back from a season where he didn’t pitch until the last two weeks of the season. In 2017 he was 14-6, and in 2018, he was 19-8 with an ERA of 3.39. Both years he was in the running for the Cy Young Award and an All-Star.
This past season during spring training, he suffered rotator cuff inflammation, and when he was recovering from that, a stubborn lat strain that had him away from the team until late September. In his 2019 games, he was 1-1 with an ERA of 1.50. In the postseason against the Twins, he pitched four innings of no-run ball in the Yankees win in the ALDS against the Twins. In the ALCS, he pitched 4.1 innings giving up two runs in a game the Yankees lost to the Houston Astros. In that three-game homestand, the Yankees lost all of their games at the Stadium. The Yankees are hoping a rested, and injury-free Severino will return to his 2018 form. If he does, he could compete with Cole as the Yankee’s best pitcher.
James Paxton: Paxton started the season slowly, but came on strong in the second half of the season. The Yankees won all of his last eleven starts in which he recorded ten wins in a row. He ended the season at 15-6. He lost all five games he pitched in July. Had he not had a bad July, he could have had the best record of any Yankee pitcher. In this postseason, he gave up three runs in the game against Twins in the ALDS; in a game, the Yankees ultimately won.
In the ALCS against the Houston Astros, he allowed just two runs in 8.1 innings in a win against the Astros in Houston. Paxton will be a free agent after this season. Although Paxton is 31, he should have several more years of production. The Yankees should offer him an extension of 3-4 years at similar pay. Paxton is a relatively inexpensive number 2 or 3 starter.
Masahiro Tanaka: Masahiro Tanaka, when he was signed with the Yankees in 2014 he was supposed to be a top-line pitcher, and he didn’t disappoint. In 2014 he went 13-5 with a 2.77 ERA — 2015 and 2016 were outstanding seasons when he recorded a 26-11 record. In 2017 he started to show a decline in his four-seam fastball and had a poor season resulting in a 13-12 record. Although he has approved somewhat in the past two years, he is showing signs of decline and continues to give up the long ball. He is dependable and gives it his all in every start. He has addressed the reduced velocity of his fastball, relying more on his slider and splitter this past season. Like Paxton Tanaka also is a free agent after this season. However, unlike Paxton, he is an expensive pitcher.  Considering what is out there to replace him, I would offer him an extension to his contract for a short period, say two years at a somewhat reduced annual salary.
Domingo German: German came into his own during 2019, being asked to be a fill-in for the rehabbing Luis Severino. The Yankees were hoping he would at least be even in his win and loss record. But German answered the calling by going 18-4, before being suspended for breaking MLB rules on domestic violence. If he had not been suspended, he may have had a 20 plus winning season and could have had a significant impact on the outcome of the Yankee postseason. He will miss the first 63 games of the season, but considering last year’s record, he will likely replace whoever is in the fifth spot in the rotation upon his return.
Depending on how things go during spring training, Jordan Montgomery will probably be the fifth starter in the rotation to begin the season, unless J.A Happ over performs in his spring.
What makes the Yankee’s pitching situation so bright, besides Cole leading off the rotation, is that great depth of the Yankees pitching picture. If needed, Jonathan Loaisiga, Mike King, and Deivi Garcia and other prospects in the farm system could have an impact in the 2020 season and beyond. This includes a sleeper by the name of Luis Gil, who has worked his way up through the system. Gil entered this season as the organization’s 13th-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He currently ranks No. 4 and is pitched for the high-Class A Tarpons this past season. The 2020 season certainly looks bright for the Yankees this year and into the future, with the possibility of several trips to the World Series.