Possible Moves New York Yankees Can Make to Upgrade Starting Rotation

Here are some possible moves the New York Yankees can make to upgrade their starting rotation this offseason.

The New York Yankees will certainly have to go back to the drawing board this offseason after missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2016. 

There will be a number of areas to address for general manager Brian Cashman, but one of the main areas of focus will be the starting rotation.

There is no doubt that the pinstripes have one of the best aces in baseball in Gerrit Cole. He was a top contender for AL Cy Young in 2023, finishing 15-4 with 222 strikeouts (3rd in AL) and a 2.63 ERA that was good enough for second in the league behind only Blake Snell. Cole also led the league with 24 quality starts, proving he is one of the best aces in all of baseball. New York can at least rest easy knowing they have a lights-out starter at the top of the rotation.

After Cole, though, it became difficult to find consistency in the rotation for New York. Nestor Cortes, an All-Star with 15 wins in 2022, only appeared in 12 games this year due to a shoulder injury. Carlos Rodon, who Cashman handed a six-year, $162 Million deal last year, was only able to start in 14 games this year due to a number of injuries and had a whopping 6.85 ERA and 65 hits allowed across 64 innings.

Due to the size of the contract, it is likely Rodon will get a chance to redeem his 2023 season with the bombers in 2024. However, outside of the top two, the rest of the rotation has a lot of question marks. 

Luis Severino, a former two-time All-Star for the pinstripes, also dealt with injuries, only starting 18 games, and could never truly find a groove on the mound with a 6.65 ERA for the year. 

Domingo German pitched a perfect game this year and looked like he could be a key part of the rotation, but has also struggled off the field and voluntarily entered inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse in August.

Clarke Schmidt was the most reliable this year out of the rest of the rotation, starting 32 games and posting a 4.64 ERA with 149 strikeouts, good for second on the team in both categories. Schmidt, at 27-years-old and under contract until 2027, should the Yankees choose to pay him through arbitration, could be a solid option for Aaron Boone toward the bottom of the rotation.

The Yankees will likely have at least one or two spots to fill in the rotation heading into next season, and there are a number of enticing free agents available, with even some potential aces in their own organization.

The top name for Yankee fans to keep on the lookout for is 25-year-old Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The generational talent is slated as the second-ranked MLB free agent this offseason, only behind Shohei Ohtani, who is widely considered the best player on the planet. His numbers are comical over a three-year span with the Orix Buffaloes, pitching a 1.84 ERA with 901 strikeouts to only 204 walks and boasts a record of 68-29 in his starts. Yamamoto has now won the Japanese pitcher’s “Triple Crown” three years in a row on top of three consecutive Sawamura Awards (Cy Young Award in Japan) and three consecutive Pacific League MVP’s. This has never been done in any league across the history of baseball. At just 25, Yamamoto has a chance to be a historic pick-up for Cashman, who visited Japan to witness a game in August and was beyond impressed with the pitcher’s play.

Looking back into the MLB, there will be a number of aces coming off big years who the Yankees could fill the rest of their rotation with. Aaron Nola, the 30-year-old right-hander from the Philadelphia Phillies, is an option that could be perfect for New York. Nola finished 12-9 in the regular season with Philly and logged a 4.46 ERA a year after finishing fourth in the NL Cy Young voting. Once revered as an up-and-coming ace in the league, Nola would be excellent for New York in the third or fourth spot in the rotation.

Two more names to keep an eye out for in free agency are Blake Snell and Sonny Gray. Snell seems to have recovered some of his 2018 AL Cy Young form for the San Diego Padres, finishing first in the league with a 2.25 ERA and third with 224 strikeouts, logging a 14-9 record for the Friars. Snell would be an option similar to Yamamoto, someone who could overtake Rodon in the rotation and be lights out night-in and night-out.

A potential reunion with 33-year-old Minnesota Twins right-hander Gray could also be on the table, with Gray holding his ERA below three for the first time since 2018, the year after he left New York. Gray could be an excellent complement to Cole and Rodon and a steady presence in the middle/back of the rotation. But he is going to be 34 and did struggle immensely during his time with the Yankees, posting a 4.51 ERA in 34 starts (41 appearances) across a season and a half.

Should a number of these moves not pan out for New York, Drew Thorpe, currently in the minors for the Yankees, will be a name to keep an eye on. Thorpe is coming off a season in which he won Minor League Pitching Prospect of the Year and threw for a sub-three ERA at the Double-A level with Somerset. If Thorpe starts the year hot in the minors, expect to see, at least, a few appearances in the majors.

There is no doubt Cashman and his team are headed back to the drawing board after this season and the rotation will need addressing. The good news is there are a plethora of enticing options that could make New York one of the premier rotations in all of baseball.