The New York Yankees rotation has been the best in the majors, even amid injury, and they’ll have a hard time picking one starter to remove when Max Fried returns from injury.
But longtime MLB reporter and columnist Bob Klapisch floated the idea of the Yankees keeping all six starters in their rotation as long as each is healthy and pitching well.
The Yankees lead the majors in starters’ ERA (2.97) and fWAR (7.6). They likely have the current American League Cy Young Award favorite on their staff in Cam Schlittler.
Buoyed by their dominant starters, the Yankees have the AL’s second-best record (36-23) and trail the Tampa Bay Rays by just one game for first place in the AL East.
Columnist: The Yankees Should Stick With a 6-Man Rotation
Sticking with a six-man rotation may seem like a cop out, since hard decisions are a manager’s job and the Yankees currently have one-too-many pitchers in their rotation.
But Klapisch spelled out the point expertly, especially since the Yankees have three older starters — Fried, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon — who have been on the injured list this season. Plus, there is already angst cropping up about Schlittler’s work load, since he is already halfway to his entire-season total for innings in 2025 (164 innings).
“[A six-man rotation’ would protect the three starters who’ve already been on the IL (Cole, Fried and Rodon) and give breathing room to Schlittler, who suffered a lat injury in February,” Klapisch wrote for NJ.com on Tuesday. “Although it was minor, the hard-throwing right-hander was nevertheless shut down for a period during camp.”
Cole has been dominant through scoreless outings after missing 14 months due to Tommy John surgery. But Klapisch wrote how the onus should be on the Yankees to ease the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner along before letting him loose in the postseason.
“I like the idea of bringing Cole along carefully before October,” Klapisch wrote. “He’s been unhittable in his first two starts since returning from Tommy John surgery, but he’s nevertheless in uncharted waters. Conventional wisdom says pitchers with reconstructed elbows don’t recover this fast.
“Cole might be a unicorn, but there’s nothing wrong with a regular extra day of rest.”
Fried also had been dominant until he was shut down with a bone bruise in his left elbow last month in Baltimore. Keeping Ryan Weathers or Will Warren in the rotation to support the fourth-place finisher in 2025 AL Cy Young voting fresh and Weathers and Warren built up in case of a pesky ailment for Fried.
“This kind of injury never heals quickly,” Klapisch wrote about Fried’s. “Remember, he’s a finesse pitcher with a history of debilitating blisters.”
Carlos Rodon to the Bullpen Would be a ‘Radical’ Decision
The Yankees bullpen could use reinforcements, since they rank 10th in bullpen ERA and 12th in FIP.
So having a lefty who throws 100-plus-mph could be a boon for Aaron Boone’s pen.
Even though he has suddenly been dominant, Weathers is the most likely candidate to pitch out of relief. The Yankees Nos. 1-4 are iron clad, and they are 10-2 in Warren’s starts.
To his credit, Weathers is willing to go to the pen if need be.
“If that’s what it takes to help the team, I would do it no problem,” Weathers said of becoming a reliever to Klapisch. “If they want me to blow it out for 10-15 pitches (in one inning of work), I’ll get it up around 100-mph. If it helps us win, sure, I would do it.”
It’s a better option than Rodon, who despite his struggles coming off offseason elbow surgery has made just five relief appearances in his 12-season major-league career.
“It’s a crazy thought, probably too much to ask of Rodon,” Klapisch wrote. “He was an 18-game winner in 2025, a career-best, and named to the All-Star team.”
Yankees’ Aaron Boone Urged to Make ‘Radical’ Move When Rotation Gets Healthy