Ryan Weathers' stellar start against the Blue Jays helped the New York Yankees avoid an ugly sweep at the hands of their AL East rivals on Sunday. It also continued to heap pressure onto GM Brian Cashman and his staff to keep the talented southpaw in the team's starting rotation. On the surface, that's a good problem for any team with legitimate World Series aspirations to have. A deeper look at Weathers' career numbers reveals it's a more complicated issue for Yankees manager Aaron Boone and higher-ups in the Bronx.
The problem with all the success Weathers has enjoyed this season is that it's caused him to blow past his career high in innings pitched. Injuries were a big reason why the Marlins agreed to trade Weathers to New York in the offseason. His previous career high in innings pitched was only 94.2, which came all the way back in his rookie season of 2021.
Sunday's outing ran Weathers' total this year all the way up to 126.2. That's a healthy increase over any total he's posted previously. His workload will only rise as the season continues to roll around. The Yankees also hope Weathers can be a key part of their pitching staff when they playoffs begin.
What will the Yankees do with Ryan Weathers?
Earlier in the year it seemed clear the Yankees would eventually move Weathers to the bullpen once some of their other starters got healthy. Carlos Rodon should return to New York's rotation soon, which does give Boone and his staff that option. The consensus wisdom is that either Weathers or Will Warren will move to the bullpen once Rodon is back and ready to absorb a full workload.
Weathers profiles as an excellent swing-and-miss southpaw who could help the Yankees hold onto leads in the late innings. The problem is that he is also pitching like an All-Star starter at the moment. The Yankees are locked in a dogfight to hang on to their playoff position at the moment. The inability of their batting order to score runs on a regular basis has forced the team to rely on exemplary starting pitching to stay afloat.
There's no real argument that Weathers has been better than Warren as a starter this year. That makes the short-term decision for the Yankees obvious. If they only are considering their win total down the stretch of the 2026 campaign, they have to keep Weathers in the starting rotation.
Cashman needs to make sure he's considering the long term as well. There's no guarantee Weathers' health will break down due to his increased workload down the stretch, but every inning he throws puts him in more danger of suffering an serious injury due to overuse.
The sooner the Yankees bite the bullet and put Weathers in the bullpen, the better off they'll be. A few more starts like Sunday's gem might make it impossible for them to take him out of the rotation. That could cost Weathers a long-term career as an excellent starter in the name of squeezing another win or two out of this season for a flawed title contender. The logical choice is to move Weathers to the bullpen even if it's unpopular with the fan base.
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