A Good Problem to Have

A month into the 2026 MLB season, the Yankees have one of the best rotations in baseball.  If not the best.  And, the crazy thing about it, is how they're missing three of their top starting pitchers.  So, the rotation stands to get even better.  Which creates an interesting predicament.  Who do you drop when Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon return?

Rodon is expected to be back sometime in May, while Cole should make his season debut in early June.  It's an encouraging sign in his recovery from Tommy John surgery that the Yankees put Cole on the 15-day IL instead of the 60-day to start the season, but they also have absolutely no reason to rush him back.  They have the luxury of not needing to rush either one.  Especially when the replacements have been doing so well.  But, make no mistake, when they do return, they're reclaiming their places in the rotation.

I saw an asinine article the other day that actually argued Cole shouldn't automatically go back in the rotation and suggested he had to earn his place instead.  Their argument seemed to be based on the idea that current starters like Ryan Weathers and Luis Gil don't deserve to be dropped.  I appreciate that stance, but there's no way Gerrit Cole doesn't immediately go back in the rotation.  He's paid $36 million a year for a reason.  And that ain't to be a middle reliever!

Cole's a starting pitcher.  Period.  End of sentence.  His entire rehab has been built around getting his pitch count up so that he has no restrictions when he returns.  When he returns, he won't be on a pitch count or an innings limitation.  Cole and Max Fried will give the Yankees that 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation they've been waiting for ever since they signed Fried.  With Rodon in the No. 3 spot right behind them.  Rodon is also being paid to be a starting pitcher.  So, like Cole, he'll immediately go back in the rotation.

It's obviously a bit too early to start speculating about how they'll work Cole and Rodon back into the rotation and who they'll replace when they do return.  And these things sometimes have a way of sorting themselves out.  I almost don't want to say it and manifest it into existence, but if there's an injury, that opens up a spot right there.  Just look at what happened to the Yankees last year.  Injuries to Cole and Luis Gil created an opportunity for Will Warren.  Then Clarke Schmidt got hurt and along came Cam Schlittler.

Speaking of Cam Schlittler, it's almost impossible to imagine him not being included in that rotation when it's at full strength.  And Fried obviously makes four.  So, that leaves Warren, Weathers and Gil for the last spot in the rotation.  All three have made their case, so I don't envy the decision the team will have to make.  But they will have to make it.  And those three starters know it.

Sending Gil to the Minors would seem to make the most sense.  They didn't need a fifth starter at the beginning of the year, so he actually began the season at Triple A.  Which means they've already used an option year.  So, it's not like they'd be wasting one by sending him down.  And that would leave him stretched out as a starter, ready to get the call whenever and if they need him to return in a pinch.  He's also never been used out of the bullpen, so do you want to put him in that situation for the first time?

That leaves Ryan Weathers and Will Warren, which is tough.  They traded for Weathers with the intent of having him in the starting rotation.  And, after a shaky first few starts, he's been really good since.  So, there's a legitimate argument for Weathers to stay in the rotation.  However, he began his career as a reliever and the bullpen has been the shakiest part of the Yankees' roster this season, so there's just as much of an argument for Weathers to move to the bullpen.

So, that's the way I'd go.  Gil to the Minors, Weathers to the bullpen and Warren staying in the rotation.  Warren hasn't just outperformed Weathers, he's only ever been a starter.  He made one appearance out of the bullpen in 2024, but was a full-time member of the rotation as a rookie last season, starting 33 games.  So, he's less equipped to go to the bullpen than Weathers.  Which is why leaving Warren in the rotation instead of Weathers makes the most sense to me.

Keep in mind, too, that the return of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon will also help the Yankees' most glaring weakness--their bullpen.  That's another thing that has to enter the thought process.  It's not just about upgrading the rotation by adding Cole and Rodon.  Nor is it about "demoting" whoever they replace in the rotation.  It's about which of those pitchers can help the bullpen just as much.  And Ryan Weathers seems like the guy who can get shifted to the bullpen without missing a beat.  He might be the only one of those three who I can picture thriving in that role.  So, by moving to the bullpen, he'd actually become more valuable to the team than by staying in the rotation...even though they traded for him to be a starter.

This isn't a situation the Yankees are accustomed to seeing themselves in.  They're usually looking for starting pitching and desperate to add more.  Having an abundance of it is certainly something new.  Especially when the decision comes down to more than just performance.  Because they've all been doing the job!  The starting rotation has been outstanding!  All five of them.  But, as good as they've been, two of them have to go, whether it's to the bullpen or the Minors.

And, as we've seen with plenty of other teams in recent years, having an overabundance of starting pitching isn't necessarily a bad thing.  It felt like the Dodgers had about nine starting pitchers on their roster for like four years in a row.  The Braves have so many starting pitchers that half of their projected rotation ends up in the Minors at some point in the season simply because they have option years available.  And starting pitching depth is one of the most valuable things any Major League team can have.

With that in mind, the return of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon to the Yankees' rotation obviously isn't a bad thing.  And it should be a very scary thought for the rest of the American League.  Because, as good as their rotation has been this season, it figures to get even better when those two return.  Don't forget, Gerrit Cole won the Cy Young in 2023 and Carlos Rodon was an All*Star last season.  So, yes, they're an upgrade.  Which isn't a knock on Will Warren, Ryan Weathers and Luis Gil.  It just says how good Cole and Rodon are.

There's still a little time before we see what they ultimately decide.  But there's plenty of reasons to be excited about the return of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon.  Yes, the Yankees' rotation is currently doing very well.  That doesn't mean they don't need two of their top three starters.  And just imagine how much better that rotation will be when it's Cole, Fried, Rodon, Schlittler and whoever's in the fifth spot.  Whether it's Warren, Weathers or Gil.