Through the first couple weeks of the regular season, the New York Yankees have been relying on their high-powered offense to win games. The injury-ravaged starting rotation, on the other hand, has been up and down for Aaron Boone’s club so far in 2025.
There is some good news on that front, though: Righty Clarke Schmidt is battling back from some early shoulder fatigue and appears to be one step closer to a big-league return after his most recent rehab start. But with Schmidt’s debut right around the corner, the Yankees will have to adjust their roster to make room for him — and that could force New York into an awkward but necessary choice.
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Will Warren will be inevitable roster casualty of Clarke Schmidt’s return for Yankees
Schmidt started the 2025 season on the IL due to tendinitis in the rotator cuff of his throwing arm. Schmidt made his second rehab start on Thursday and was quite impressive, scattering four hits across four shutout innings while striking out four and not allowing a single walk. Pitching this well in his second rehab start and being able to mix all of his pitches well is a good indication that he is nearing a return. While this is exciting for the Yankees, someone on the big-league roster has to go.
Outside of Max Fried and Carlos Rodon, the Yankees have plenty of replaceable rotation options just based on production alone. Veteran Carlos Carrasco, in particular, would seem to be a likely candidate after getting rocked in a loss to the Detroit Tigers this week. However, the most likely candidate to return to the Minors is rookie Will Warren.
Yes, Carlos Carrasco has been a disappointment. But as Brendan Kuty of The Athletic notes, the veteran doesn't have any Minor League options remaining, and it would be very unlikely that he'd be open to going down to Triple-A. If the Yankees chose to option Carrasco and he declined, that would be throwing money out the window as another team would almost certainly poach him off of waivers.
The Yankees still have high hopes for Warren, but he has a 6.00 ERA so far this season and has only made it through nine total innings across two starts. Plus, he can be sent down without being made available to other teams, allowing New York to preserve pitching depth. The best decision for the Yankees when Schmidt comes back is to send Warren back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and hope veteran Carrasco can find a way to turn back the clock.