The hunt for Aki Sasaki is over. That would mean most of the drama surrounding the Yankees' rotation for the rest of the offseason is over.
After Sasaki refused to play against the Yankees on Monday, the club's starting group appears to be set aside for the wild card of Marcus Stroman, who the club is considering trading as a way to free up salary. .
The Yankees could use Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, and Clark Schmidt as their front five. I project Stroman to be either a No. 6 starter or a swingman, but the $18 million he is due in 2025 might be better spent elsewhere. The 40-man roster includes Will Warren, JT Brubaker, Clayton Beater and Yoendriz Gomez.
Without current Met's Juan Soto, the Yankees improved elsewhere. They hope Fried's addition turns a good rotation (rated 13th in value last season with Cole absent for an extended period of time, according to FanGraphs) into a great rotation.
“I feel like we’ve added another piece to the championship.” [in Fried] … What we believe is an outstanding rotation,” manager Aaron Boone said last month.
Here's a rotation that GM Brian Cashman described as “very tough.”
call: In a strange 2024, the ace missed nearly all of spring training and nearly three months of the season due to nerve inflammation and edema in his right elbow.
He returned with some hiccups and his ability was a notch below normal, but any doubts about his excellence were put to rest with a dominant postseason.
He started five games and posted a 2.17 ERA, but virtually his only error was a Mookie Betts ground ball that didn't reach first base.
After a rare injury and a rare shortened season, Cole is handling this offseason a little differently.
“He actually kind of took a little bit of a break this year and kept his arm moving,” pitching coach Matt Blake said last month.
Fried food: The Yankees featured a pitcher with $218 million on his resume and suggested he was not being utilized to his full potential.
By acquiring the left-handed pitcher, who posted a 3.07 ERA in eight seasons with the Braves, the Yankees have raised the ceiling of their rotation — and believe Fried has an even higher ceiling.
“He's had a lot of success, but as we watch him, we see a level of improvement going forward in terms of how he can build and pull off weapons,” Blake said. spoke. “There is room to evolve with us.”
There's probably no better pitch for Fried to master — his arsenal included seven different pitches last season — but the club has refined the 30-year-old's repertoire. I think there is something that can be done.
Fried is excited about the Yankees' pitching lab in Tampa and the technical facilities he hasn't yet experienced.
“I’m a guy who’s always looking for ways to get better by adding something or trying to enhance something,” Freed said.
Rodon: For the second consecutive winter, the left-handed pitcher spent a lot of time at the Yankees' spring home base in Tampa.
Rodon didn't pitch like a $162 million pitcher, but he bounced back with a modest but solid 2024 season.
After a disastrous and injury-riddled first year in the Bronx, Rodon started 32 games and posted a 3.96 ERA with 195 strikeouts in 175 innings. October had its ups and downs, with a tough start with a loss to the Dodgers.
He established that he could pitch in the Bronx. Now he's going to pitch better in the Bronx.
“It's not easy to play here sometimes, especially when you come in on a big contract and you struggle or you make a little mistake and fall flat on your face,” Boone said at the end of the season. “He bounced back, and that's a credit to him. It's because of the hard work he put in to get to this position.”
Gil: The current American League Rookie of the Year is looming as an X-factor in the 2025 rotation. What if Gil, in his second full season in the majors, can turn that glimpse of greatness into more than just a glimpse?
Last season, the right-hander earned a spot in the rotation in the spring and may have been the best pitcher in baseball for two months (he had a 1.82 ERA as of June 4), but he declined, perhaps due to fatigue. did.
Gill underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2022, returned to the minor league mound in September 2023, and started 29 games in 2024, but his control issues grew as the season progressed. Ta.
He led the majors with 77 walks in 151 square innings. He said his goal this offseason is to hone that command, which will improve as he gets fresher.
“I think that's something that I can continue to improve on as I continue to grow as a pitcher,” Gill said in November.
Schmidt: The right-hander lost all of June, July and August to a low strain, cutting short what was supposed to be a real breakout season.
But when healthy, Schmidt broke out, posting a season ERA of 2.85. This was the 11th best performance among pitchers who pitched 80 or more innings.
Relying more on the cutter he discovered as a way to finally retire the left-handed hitter, Schmidt has taken a big step forward and now hopes to be able to do it for the entire season.
Strawman: The Post's Jon Heyman reports that the Yankees are willing to repay some of the veteran's contract in a trade, and Stroman could provide some benefit to a team looking for a player to eat innings.
Since 2021, Stroman's 112 starts are tied for 22nd in baseball. He still causes a lot of ground balls, but that may have hurt him last season when the Yankees' infield defense was poor.
The 33-year-old had a good two-month run (2.60 ERA through May), but then slumped (5.70 ERA from June to September) and did not pitch in the postseason.
