New York Yankees Could Make Significant Pitching Change

The New York Yankees will enter the 2026 MLB campaign without Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, as both pitchers are recovering from respective surgeries.

Cole underwent Tommy John surgery last March, and Rodon had a procedure to clean out his elbow shortly after the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs.

New York went out and acquired Ryan Weathers in a trade with the Miami Marlins to combat the early lack of depth and will now field a starting rotation of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren and Weathers to start the season.

But what happens once Cole and Rodon return?

Chris Kirschner of The Athletic wrote about the Yankees' starting rotation in a recent Spring Training piece, and he wondered if New York could ultimately make a significant change with one of its starting arms.

"But if the Yankees can eventually get front-line rotation production out of Cole, it would be massive for their chances to win the World Series and could push one of their starters into a potentially shaky bullpen," Kirschner wrote.

Some speculated that Weathers could ultimately be moved to the bullpen when New York initially acquired him, and Warren seems like a potential candidate, as well. Gil? Probably less so given his frequent command issues.

Of course, the Yanks could also make a trade, potentially including Warren or Gil in a package for a star player before the trade deadline in August.

Obviously, having too many pitchers is a cushy problem to have. Injuries do happen throughout the course of a 162-game campaign, so it's nice that the Yankees have some extra depth. But you need to properly allocate your resources, as well.

If it comes to a point where New York clearly has a hole somewhere on the roster, it would make sense for the Yankees to trade out of their surplus of starting pitching to fill it. Or, if New York feels it needs another frontline hurler (like Minnesota Twins star Joe Ryan, for example), it has some pitching depth it can include in trade packages.

I have maintained throughout the winter that Warren seems like a prime candidate to be dealt this coming season, and that feeling only strengthened since the Bronx Bombers acquired Weathers last month.

All of that being said, a whole lot can change between now and the middle of the summer, so we really don't know what will happen yet.

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