Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Select Talented Young Starting Pitcher for Opening Day Roster

Injuries to Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil opened the door, and now one of the New York Yankees' top prospects has made the Opening Day roster.

Kyle Morton

Mar 20, 2025; Sarasota, Florida, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Will Warren (98) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium.
Mar 20, 2025; Sarasota, Florida, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Will Warren (98) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees are in a tough spot in terms of their starting rotation, as ace Gerrit Cole is out for the entire season and reigning American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil is sidelined for the foreseeable future.

If there's one silver lining to devastating injuries like these, it is the opportunity it creates for others to step up in spring training to fill the void.

Over the past month, talented starting pitching prospect Will Warren has done exactly that for the Yankees, and according to MLB.com beat reporter Bryan Hoch, he has earned a spot on New York's Opening Day roster as a result.

Warren, an eighth round pick in the 2021 MLB draft, got his first taste of the Big Leagues in 2024. He struggled to the tune of a 10.32 ERA in six appearances, but he showed up to Tampa ready to showcase his marked improvement.

This spring, Warren's appeared in six games while posting a 4.19 ERA while striking out 19 hitters in 19.1 innings of work. That ERA does not tell the full story, as his 1.09 WHIP suggests that he's been the victim of some run-scoring misfortune.

In the absence of Cole and Gil, the Yankee rotation is set to feature free agent acquisition Max Fried, lefty Carlos Rodón, veterans Marcus Stroman and Carlos Carrasco along with Warren.

According to a post on X by Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Warren will make his regular season debut in the team's fourth game, which comes at home in the Bronx on April 1 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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Kyle Morton
KYLE MORTON

Kyle Morton has covered various sports from amateur to professional level athletics. A graduate of Fordham University, Kyle specializes in MLB and NHL coverage while having previous bylines with SB Nation, The Hockey Writers, HighSchoolOT, and Sports World News. He spent time working the beat for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes and is an avid fan of the NHL, MLB, NFL and college basketball. Enjoys the outdoors and hiking in his free time away from sports.

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