Aaron Boone announced that Luis Gil would be the fifth starter for the New York Yankees as they break for Houston on Opening Day, and that ended a rotation battle in camp. Since Will Warren lost that battle, the Yankees would reassign him to Minor League camp, with him likely beginning his season in Triple-A with the Scranton RailRiders. Alongside Warren being reassigned, the Yankees would also announce that Cody Poteet, Ron Marinaccio, and Nick Ramirez would all be sent down to Triple-A as well to begin the season.
With roster cuts continuing, the Yankees are finalizing what their final roster will look like ahead of the 2024 regular season, and there are some ongoing battles in the bullpen still.
Will Warren Headlines Wave of Yankees’ Roster Cuts
The Yankees were making a tough decision in regards to who would become their fifth starter, as Will Warren and Luis Gil would battle it out for the final rotation spot. With the injury to Gerrit Cole, the Yankees would need someone to anchor the backend of their rotation, and Gil stormed out of camp with an excellent showing, striking out over 37% of batters faced with a power fastball. Warren, who relies on his ability to keep the ball on the ground, was pretty strong in Spring Training, but just couldn’t outpace the flamethrower.
We ranked Warren as the seventh-best prospect in the organization, and while he didn’t make the team out of camp, they are expected to use him as a depth starter. The Yankees weren’t considering him as a reliever option as they want him stretched out in case of an injury over the next few weeks. Some of the bullpen cuts that we saw include Ron Marinaccio, who was a standout rookie in 2022 when he burst onto the scene with his excellent changeup, but he’s since fallen off with poor command.
He allowed two home runs across 8.1 innings pitched, walking seven batters to seven strikeouts for a 7.56 ERA, which wasn’t going to be good enough to make the team. The right-hander will have the chance to rebound in Triple-A, where he can hopefully take the steps needed to get the call to the Major Leagues if the Yankees were to suffer another bullpen injury. Nick Ramirez, who was an under-the-radar reliever for the Yankees last season, was among those optioned as the Yankees were able to grab left-handed depth for their bullpen.
He had a modest 4.35 ERA, but he’s more of a depth arm than a middle-inning reliever, which the Yankees have plenty of right now. The Yankees are hoping that they can use him more as an emergency reliever instead of a frequent weapon, but expect to see him throughout the year as guys get hurt and fatigued. Cody Poteet, who was in the running for the fifth starter job as well, struggled in his final outing against the Tigers and as a result, lost out to Luis Gil. He’ll continue to be stretched out in Triple-A, where they will hope he can be ready at a moment’s notice.
Names like Clayton Beeter, Dennis Santana, and Nick Burdi remain in the mix for the final bullpen spots, and it remains to be seen who the Bronx Bombers will turn to on Opening Day.