The Yankees’ shaky rotation is offset by a strong offense and pen. Will that be enough for the Yanks to make a postseason run? Last year it wasn’t.
Any GM strives to be the architect of a champion. For the New York Yankees, that man is Brian Cashman.
Brian Cashman (photo, More Sports Now)
Cashman has done a number of good things for the Yankees. For one thing, he pulled off a heist by signing reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton. And he has stockpiled talent throughout the Yankees’ farm system.
But Cashman just hasn’t gotten the job done when it comes to the Yankees’ starting rotation. And that weakness may be the downfall of the 2018 team.
If so, it will be a repeat story.
NY made it to the postseason last year via a dominant bullpen and potent offense. But starting pitching was a concern last year and the Yanks feature the same mediocre set of starters this year: Luis Severino, CC Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, and Sonny Gray. Rookie Domingo German filled out the 5th spot in the rotation–at least for a while.
That’s a weak group with the exception of Severino, who earned an All-Star selection and has a stellar 15-5 mark. The rest of the rotation is inconsistent and lackluster. And that rotation is the primary reason why the Yanks are 9 ½ games behind the high-flying Red Sox in the AL East (as of August 12).
Here’s the profile:
Courtesy: Business Insider
–While Sabathia has a decent 3.49 ERA, the aging lefty has been erratic and has averaged only 5 ⅓ innings a start.
–Tanaka, who always seems one pitch away from tearing his UCL, is 9-3. But Tanaka has been giving up the long ball–22 to date–and (like CC) averages less than 6 innings a start.
–Gray has been a disaster with a hefty 5.40 ERA and an undesirable WAR (0.1). He’s now pitching out of the pen.
–In thirteen starts, German was 2-6 with a 5.68 ERA and a negative WAR. He’s now playing with Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre.
To make things worse, there’s little hope beyond that starting group–not that the Yanks haven’t tried. They’ve just had little success with Chance Adams, Jonathan Loaisiga, Luis Cessa, and Jordan Montgomery.
Cashman did manage to acquire Lance Lynn and J.A. Happ at the trade deadline, but neither is an impact starter–the kind the Astros added last year when Justin Verlander came over from the Tigers. Cashman could have acted similarly by dipping into his minor league assets to trade for a solid starter, like Jake Odorizzi or Chris Archer. To his credit, Cashman tried to acquire Gerrit Cole from the Pirates but he was outdueled by the Astros.
Let’s face it: the dearth of dependable starting pitching leaves the Yanks vulnerable again, particularly in postseason play.
That means Cashman will have to rely (again) on his pen–just as he did last year. The good news is that the relief corps was boasted recently by the addition of elite closer Zach Britton.
As I write this article the Yankees are 74-43 with a 4.5-game lead for the first AL Wild Card spot. That means the odds are that NY will make the postseason.
Will rotation woes plague NY again? Let’s hope not.
