Yankees may get starting pitching help from somewhere they'll least expect it

Before mid-June, the New York Yankees boasted the best starting rotation in baseball despite the fact they hadn’t seen a single pitch from the reigning Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole.

Carlos Rodon was having a bounce-back season and Luis Gil quickly became the best pitcher in the game. Clarke Schmidt was showing signs he could be a budding ace before being placed on the IL retroactive to May 27. But Schmidt’s injury wasn’t of any major concern as the Yankees had Cody Poteet waiting in the minors. Poteet, who had one quality start earlier in the year, quickly went to work where Schmidt had left off.

However, the Yankees starting pitching excellence was not to last.

Poteet was placed on the IL, Rodon regressed back to last year’s version of himself, and Gil has since fallen apart. The two bright spots in all of this have been the return of Gerrit Cole and the many quality outings from Marcus Stroman.

While it seems that Rodon and Gil might need a little time to sort things out, not to mention the fact that Cole could use a little extra rest since returning from the IL, the Yankees don’t have many options to give their starters any respite. However, that might not be the case for long.

JT Brubaker could make Yankees debut in July

The Yankees acquired JT Brubaker from the Pirates at the start of the season. The one caveat was that he was still on the IL recovering from Tommy John surgery. But the Yankees might see him by the end of July

Brubaker last pitched in the majors with the Pirates in 2022 when he posted a 4.69 ERA through 144 innings. Since his 2020 debut, the 30-year-old right-hander owns a career ERA of 4.99. This might not be what the Yankees were hoping for out of Brubaker, but his rehab starts have been encouraging.

So far, through 10 innings in three minor league starts, Brubaker owns a 1.80 ERA. He is expected to pitch again on Friday at the Triple-A level.

The Yankees have some big plans for Brubaker as they expect him to help their pitching staff after the All-Star break. Should this plan fail, the Yankees can look to another returning starter. Cody Poteet is expected back in July or August and Clarke Schmidt may be ready as early as August. In any case, reinforcements are on their way.