The last week hasn’t been too kind to the Yankees, as they’ve dropped five of their last six games and seen their offense disappear for most of that stretch. While there’s concerns to be had about the lineup struggling to get going again leading to one of their only losing streaks of the year, they were dealt a different blow in their latest loss when Max Fried exited the game early with what was revealed to be an elbow issue.
It’s still unclear what the scope of Fried’s injury is exactly, and until
his examination later today comes through we won’t know the full scope of the issue, but it’s never a positive sign when one of your top pitchers has something going on with their elbow. Fried himself was awfully optimistic pondering if his next start could come without missing his turn through the rotation, but it would feel like malpractice to allow a starter to go immediately after experiencing pain in their elbow to any extent. Perhaps this ends up being relatively minor in terms of a setback, but it is a setback to the Yankee rotation that still isn’t quite at full strength.
We’ve been talking for weeks about the cavalry coming to bolster the rotation, but quite frankly its not here yet. Carlos Rodón did make his season debut on Sunday, but he looked incredibly rusty in doing so, and Gerrit Cole has looked off in his rehab starts as well and will need at least a couple more outings before he even gets the green light to make a start in pinstripes. The rotation has been the biggest strength of the team thus far, but it’s status as a pillar of the team will now get tested as they try to integrate these arms working their way back to regular form while missing out on their best pitcher from last season in the immediate future.
Thankfully, Cam Schlittler has taken a leap into becoming the ace of the staff, pitching like a true Cy Young contender for the Yankees in his second season in the majors. Will Warren has also enjoyed a massive sophomore season, and Ryan Weathers has been one of the best bottom of the rotation arms after coming over in an offseason trade. The core of the rotation remains highly effective, but there’s no such thing as too much pitching depth and that’s being proven at this moment. How will they manage in this transitionary period after suffering the first blow to their starters and with their returnees still finding themselves? Should Fried need an IL stint, will they go back to using some of their unproven prospects like Elmer Rodríguez or Brendan Beck, or will Luis Gil get another shot to prove he still has a future with this team? I imagine the former would be preferable, especially if this does end up being just a short-term issue.
While the Yankees take a needed day off after getting roughed up of late, we’re staying active as ever. Peter leads off with a two-part Sequence of the Week for Will Warren’s Houdini act in Tuesday’s start against the O’s, and then Sam has the Rivalry Roundup where the Jays exacted a bit of revenge against the Rays. Matt honors Earle Combs of Murderers’ Row fame on his birthday, and later in the day Andrés examines Jazz Chisholm’s contact woes this season.
Today’s Matchup
Off-day
