The New York Yankees will head into the 2026 regular season with several injured starters, but a recent prediction on a newcomer to the rotation offers an encouraging outlook for the pitching staff.
MLB.com released a roundtable article with analysts providing dark horse Cy Young candidates for each league. David Adler tabbed Yankees left-hander Ryan Weathers for his surprise AL Cy Young pick. The writer highlighted Weathers’ excellent velocity on all of his pitches, citing Tarik Skubal, Jesus Luzardo, and Garrett Crochet as having comparable arsenals.
The Yankees acquired Weathers in a 4-for-1 swap with the Miami Marlins. New York sent back prospects Brendan Jones, Juan Matheus, Dillon Lewis, and Dylan Jasso. It’ll be the third stop for the 26-year-old Weathers, who began his career with the San Diego Padres.
New York Yankees Prediction Has Newcomer Ryan Weathers Earning Cy Young Honors
Weathers got off to a strong start in Spring Training, punching out five over 3.2 innings against the Washington Nationals. His subsequent outings against the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves didn’t go as smoothly, but the strikeout numbers have been there. Weathers has a healthy 26.1% strikeout rate over 9.1 innings of spring play.
The Padres took Weathers with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 draft. He debuted with the club in 2021, scuffling to a 5.32 ERA across 30 appearances. The lefty split his time between the rotation and the bullpen in his first taste of MLB action. Weathers made just one big-league appearance in 2022, allowing four earned runs over 3.2 innings.
San Diego dealt Weathers to Miami at the trade deadline in 2023. The Marlins sent back Garrett Cooper and Sean Reynolds. Weathers emerged as a reliable member of the Miami rotation in 2024, pitching to a 3.63 ERA across 16 starts. He pushed his velocity to 96.2 mph on the fastball, up more than 2 mph from when he debuted with the Padres.
Injuries would impact Weathers’ time with the Marlins. He missed most of the second half in 2024 with a finger injury. A flexor muscle strain put him on the IL to open 2025, and a lat strain would cost him three months. Weathers managed just eight MLB starts this past season.
Where Does Ryan Weathers Slot Into the Yankees’ Rotation?
The Yankees are looking to bounce back after an early exit from the playoffs in 2025. New York knocked off the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card round, but fell to the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Divisional Series. The club will have to embark on another postseason run without several key pitchers to begin the year.
Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt are both working their way back from Tommy John surgery. They’re expected to miss a couple of months to begin the year. Carlos Rodon’s timeline is a bit better, as he’s shooting for a May return following offseason elbow surgery. Outside of the Weathers trade, the Yankees didn’t do much this winter to add to the rotation. Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough were brought back, but they’ll function as long relievers in the bullpen.
Max Fried and postseason star Cam Schlittler will lead the rotation, with Weathers likely slotting in after them. Will Warren and Luis Gil will round out the group.
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