The New York Yankees’ rotation has several question marks after Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery. Can Nestor Cortes Jr. keep up his high performance level of 2021? Will Jameson Taillon be healthy to start the season after fall surgery? Can Domingo German show any consistency? Will Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt be factors?
Well, Yankees’ skipper Aaron Boone spoke specifically about Taillon and German. The former Pirate is progressing nicely after his ankle procedure, and, according to the manager, should be ready for the Opening Day roster.
“There are some other guys that are coming off different surgeries and things like that and some other guys that are a little slow-moving,” Boone told reporters at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Monday. “But I think most of the guys on our roster and stuff are pretty good.”
The Yankees will have Taillon back on time to open the season
Speaking specifically about Taillon, who had a procedure to repair a torn right ankle tendon in October, he said: “I think Jamo should be on time. Jamo is in a good spot.”
This qualifies as excellent news, given that Taillon was initially expected to miss the first month of the season.
There are, however, bad news to report on two pitchers: one of them is a starter and the other one is a reliever.
Domingo German, who suffered shoulder problems in 2021, experienced some issues in January. Boone said that he is “definitely going to be behind” the other pitchers, as he just started his throwing program and won’t be ready to ramp up to a regular starter’s workload before the opening series on April 7 against the Boston Red Sox.
Stephen Ridings, a Yankees’ flamethrower who impressed in limited action last year, will also be out of action for the foreseeable future, as he hasn’t been throwing lately as he deals with “some shoulder and back stuff,” per Boone. “We’ll see where that leads.”