The New York Yankees may be making headlines for their inability to score runs at the moment, but GM Brian Cashman and his staff are already wondering how the team might line up in the postseason. One of the biggest questions still remaining in the Bronx is who might end up as the team's No. 3 starter when the postseason begins.
Barring injury, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon seem like locks to start the postseason as manager Aaron Boone's top two options. Gerrit Cole was supposed to anchor the triumvirate before his campaign was short circuited due to injury.
The organization also had high hopes for Luis Gil coming off his Rookie of the Year campaign. He has not pitched in 2025 due to his own injury issues but he should come back in time to give the Yankees' starting rotation a boost during the second half of the regular season.
Interestingly, Will Warren was not even supposed to head to the Bronx coming out of Spring Training. He was orginally expected to begin the season in AAA. The odds always favored him being called up to the majors due to injury, but the plan was not for him to make 15 major league starts before the middle of June.
The Yankees may need to count on Will Warren
Now, Warren has a real chance to cement his place as the team's No. 3 starter. In theory, that would mean Boone and his staff would count on him to be a member of the team's postseason rotation. There's a real debate over whether or not he deserves that kind of responsibiltiy based on his current body of work.
The 26-year-old's overall numbers on the season are far from inspiring. He sports a mediocre 4.83 ERA in 69 innings of work. Warren actually has a slightly negative WAR on the year as a result of all the runs he's given up. His win/loss record of 4-4 does nothing to bolster the case that he should be a key member of the team's starting playoff rotation.
A closer look at Warren's numbers is what's required to make a case that he should be used in such high profile situations. Specifically, his strikeout rate shows that he has legitimate swing-and-miss stuff at the major league level. Warren has struck out 90 hitters on the year. He's also averaging seven strikeouts per game in his last seven starts. That includes a career-high mark of 11 Ks against the Angels in the team's loss on Tuesday night.
Overall, Warren has the sixth most strikeouts in the American League to date. Part of that is due to his ability to hold up and make 15 starts. Availability is a big part of his regular season value. It's less of a plus for him in the postseason.
Warren's ability to strike out hitters does raise his ceiling in any single game. That could give him a valuable edge over someone like Clarke Schmidt when it comes to the playoffs. Warren does not need to pitch to contact to be successful. That might be particularly important to a Yankees team whose infield defense has been shaky as of late.
There's little doubt that Warren would be the team's No. 3 starter if the playoffs started today. The biggest threat to his hold on that spot is the possibility of Cashman pulling the trigger on a mid-season trade to fortify the starting rotation. It's easy to foresee a scenario where New York chooses to acquire a more proven veteran to be their No. 3 starter in the playoffs.
That does not mean Warren will be on the fringes of Boone's playoff roster. His swing-and-miss stuff could make him a valuable bullpen place for the Yankees as they march towards a hopeful World Series berth. That might no be the role Warren wants to assume in the postseason but it coudl be the best possible outcome for the Yankees.
The key for Warren will be to show that he can continue to handle a full workload as a starter. He's steaming towards a career high in innings pitched assuming he does stay healthy. A move to the bullpen in the playoffs could also be a way to make sure he doesn't overextend his arm in his first full season in the majors.
Ultimately, the odds are slightly against Warren to be the Yankees' No. 3 starter in the postseason but he has a chance to defy those odds and win the job as the regular season rolls along. It's an interesting storyline for Yankee fans to watch as the dog days of summer start to take their toll.