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Yankees news: What NYY’s rotation looks like after Carlos Rodon injury

By Zachary Rotman

Feb 18, 2023; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) and starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) talk during spring training practice at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 18, 2023; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) and starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) talk during spring training practice at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Carlos Rodon will begin the season on the IL after suffering a left forearm strain. This is a big blow to a Yankees rotation already without Frankie Montas for potentially the entire season.

The New York Yankees have an offense capable of doing some damage led, of course, by the reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge. They’ll always figure out a way to score runs playing 81 games at Yankee Stadium, but this team is really built on pitching.

In the 2019 offseason, the Yankees gave Gerrit Cole a $324 million contract to lead their rotation. This past offseason, the Yankees gave Carlos Rodon a contract worth $162 million to follow Cole. That’s almost $500 million for two starters.

The Yankees rotation should still be solid without Montas and Rodon, but it looks a lot different.

What the Yankees rotation looks like after Carlos Rodon’s injury

The Yankees still have Gerrit Cole healthy and ready to lead their rotation once again. He will be the Opening Day starter, and deservingly so as one of the better pitchers in the game.

Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino, initially the third and fourth starters respectively, jump up one spot after the Rodon injury. They’re both very capable second and third starters, but more pressure is put on them. Cortes, of course, is injured himself, so there’s a chance even he will be out on Opening Day.

The back end of this rotation is where things get really interesting.

The likely fourth starter is Domingo German. German has been a consistent depth piece for the Yankees for years now and should be fine in this role. He had a 3.61 ERA in 15 appearances last season (14 starts), most of which came after Jordan Montgomery was traded.

Clarke Schmidt would be my projected fifth starter right now. Schmidt has been used primarily as a reliever during his time in the majors but is a starter, and has been used as a starting pitcher in all but three of his minor league appearances.

Schmidt had a 3.12 ERA in 29 appearances (3 starts) for the Yankees last season. He should be a very capable option as a fifth starter to at the bare minimum keep the Yankees in games.

The Yankees will be just fine without Rodon assuming he doesn’t miss too much time as Brian Cashman expects.

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