Yankees: Starting rotation not as Rosy as the Yankees thought?

New York Yankees, Luis Severino
Oct 8, 2018; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino (40) reacts after being relieved in the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox in game three of the 2018 ALDS playoff baseball series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

With all the hype over the Yankees postseason acquisition of ace Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees fans were elated with joy.  A World Series Championship was almost assured, but are their still some questions to be dealt with?   The simple answer is yes!

A concern with Severino?

Last year during spring training, Luis Severino suffered rotator cuff inflammation led to a lat injury that kept him from pitching during the regular season until the last few weeks.  The Yankees want to avoid a repeat of what happened last year.  They are taking it very slowly with Severino.  What concerns some is that even though pitchers reported over a week ago, Severino has yet to throw for live batting practice.   With the first game this Saturday and Severino yet to throw a ball, it is questionable as to when he will participate in a spring training game.  Veteran J.A. Happ will start Saturday’s first of spring training games, Monday will mark the season preview of Gerrit Cole.  The Yankees are hopeful that Severino will be ready to start the second game of the regular season in Baltimore on Saturday, March 28th.

Paxton’s surgery:

Severino is not the only issue.  Shortly before spring training second or third starter in the rotation, James Paxton underwent back surgery. USCspine.com best describes the Paxton surgery: Microdiscectomy, also called Microlumbar Discectomy (MLD), is performed for patients with a painful lumbar herniated disc. Microdiscectomy is a very common, if not the most common, surgery performed by spine surgeons. The operation consists of removing a portion of the intervertebral disc, the herniated or protruding portion that is compressing the traversing spinal nerve root.  He also had a cyst removed.  Luckily for the Yankees, his 3 to 4-month rehab from the surgery, which would have allowed him back into the rotation sometime before the All-Star break, now appears to be shorted to enable his return as early as June.  Yet this still causes some concern.

Domingo German to miss 61 games:

Last year’s “ace” Domingo German, who went 18-4 before being shut down by the MLB, for breaking the anti-violence cause, will also be missing from the starting rotation.  German will miss the first 61 games of the season as he completes his MLB imposed suspension.  This means he will miss at least 12 starts during that period.  Based on last year’s performance, he might have won somewhere between 8 and 10 of those starts.  When comparing that to what might be expected from a Jordan Montgomery, Jonathan Loaisiga, or Micheal King, it is likely they will not compare to those numbers, meaning a loss of wins without German in the rotation.

Will Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ step up?

With the addition of Gerrit Cole leading the rotation, he will surely have more wins than losses.  The first quarter to half of the season may well depend on the production of Masahiro Tanaka and J.A Happ.  If they do well, all may be good, but if they pitch like last year, the Yankees may find themselves with fewer wins at the same time as they did last year, as Severino builds himself up to the production the Yankees hopeful for.

Pitching depth and the return of  this missing:

The Yankees saving grace is that they do have pitching depth.  They have Monty, Loaisiga, King, and even Luis Cessa and Chad Green that can start games.  They also have a solid bullpen that can be brought in, in case any of the pitchers fail to go deep into games.   It would appear barring any future injuries to the staff that the Yankees will be in excellent pitching shape by the end of June as German and Paxton will be back, and hopefully, Severino will be up to speed.