The New York Yankees opened the year with Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, Jhony Brito, Domingo German, and Nestor Cortes Jr. in the rotation. That’s because Frankie Montas, Carlos Rodon, and Luis Severino all went down with injuries during spring training.
Montas needed shoulder surgery and, in a crushing blow to the Yankees, will miss the vast majority of the year. Then, Rodon went down with a mild left forearm strain that will keep him out of action until later this month or perhaps into May; and Severino suffered a lat strain.
The Cole, Schmidt, Brito, German, and Cortes unit has managed to win six out of 10 games in the early going, good enough for third place in the AL East. However, the rotation could, and should look, vastly different a couple of weeks from now.
If things go as expected in Rodon and Severino’s rehabs, they could both be fixtures in the staff in a few weeks. He was expected to face live hitters in a batting practice session on Monday, and if all goes well, he could be nearing a rehab assignment.
Severino was scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Monday and is not far behind Rodon. Montas won’t be an option until well into the second half, though.
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Still, some Yankees hurlers will be pitching for the right to stay in the rotation. Cole and Cortes have their spots safe, but the same can’t be said about Schmidt, Brito, and German.
Their presence in the rotation will depend on the health of Rodon and Severino but also on their own performance. So far, Brito has a solid 0.90 ERA, but German is at 5.87, and Schmidt has an even worse 9.45.
Both will have more chances to improve, but there might be a spot for one of them once Rodon and Severino are back to full health.
Since it will be so long until Montas returns – if he avoids any setbacks, of course – we won’t know the landscape of the group until that moment comes along. However, within three weeks from now, the Yankees’ rotation will feature Cole, Severino, Cortes, Rodon, and one of German, Schmidt, or Brito.