The Yankees entered the offseason loaded with question marks in the starting rotation, with no certain spots taken up past ace Gerrit Cole.
New York added multiple pitchers this winter, but those question marks haven’t exactly faded given the arms Brian Cashman and the front office have added. Aaron Boone acknowledged those unknowns when talking to reporters for the first time in 2021, but gushed at the potential depth of his pitching staff after adding Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon and Jhoulys Chacin.
“I really like the depth we’ve created,” Boone said. “Brian and the front office have done a really good job this winter of adding potential high-end pitchers to our depth mix. One of the good things that came out iof last year was some of our young pitchers who have a lot of promise got to get their feet wet, and to varying degrees had a lot of success. The [Deivi] Garcias, [Clarke] Schmidts, [Nick] Nelsons and [Mike] Kings of the world that came up and showed that they can pitch at this level. I’m excited to see those guys take the next step forward.”
Youngsters like Garcia impressed in a small sample size last year, but with so many young arms that still need to prove themselves as big leaguers, Kluber and Taillon will represent the middle of the rotation heading into the season, along with lefty Jordan Montgomery. Of course, that all depends on the health of the team’s two new additions.
Kluber led the league in innings in 2018 and earned a third straight All-Star selection before injuries began to mount. He has now pitched just 36.2 innings over the past two years, only one of those innings coming last year with the Rangers. Taillon is another unknown, having pitched just 37.1 innings in the past two years, none of them coming last year, due to recovery from a second Tommy John surgery. Both names bring plenty of intrigue, but also plenty of questions.
“I think when you look at the names and the guys and the track records, there’s a lot of talented people,” Boone said. “I think everyone can acknowledge that. I also acknowledge some of the risks and the questions that people will have when you bring in Jameson and Corey, who haven’t pitched a lot in the past couple of years. But we feel like they’re physically in a very good place and can be championship caliber contributors to a team, but time will tell.”
Should Kluber and/or Taillon struggle to put together a full season, Boone still believes he has capable arms waiting in the team’s young pitching core, even if they carry minimal major league experience.
“Again, I think the amount of depth you see on our roster from a pitching standpoint gets me excited because I know at their best, they’re capable of being top-flight starters, and that’s across the board,” Boone said. “Even when you consider our young guys who got their feet wet, you can picture them being really good pitchers in this league. It’s certainly fair to have those questions because we brought in those guys, but we also feel like the upside of a lot of pitchers on our roster right now, hopefully we get those performances from a number of them behind Gerrit that will put us in that conversation, and I believe we will.”
Kluber and Taillon will certainly be watched closely by Yankee fans this season, hoping their recent injury history doesn’t add to a team that has been ravaged by injuries since the start of the 2019 season. But Boone says both pitchers are feeling healthy and ready to go after reporting to camp on Wednesday.
“By and large, those guys are in really good places as we get ready to start tomorrow,” Boone said. “I guess yes, we will be monitoring them a little more closely, but at this time of year with all of our pitchers, we’re gathering as much info as we can. We’re certainly listening to the feedback and their bodies this time of year as their workload picks up. But Jameson and Corey both are ready to go. Corey threw a few innings the other day to live hitters and Jameson has had a number of bullpens, so they come in ready to go. Obviously having not pitched a lot in the last couple years, it’s going to be something we’ll have to monitor here closely in spring training and as the season unfolds, and hopefully they’re contributing and pitching well and thriving, but we certainly have to be mindful. That’s where the depth of our pitching staff is going to be helpful and help guys stay healthy by protecting one another.”
As for the fifth spot in the rotation, Boone sees a competition among multiple candidates, including Domingo German, who will be returning to the team for the first time since September of 2019, when he was placed on the restricted list following an incident with his wife during a charity event held by then-teammate CC Sabathia. German was suspended for the 2020 season and the Yanks did not activate him for the playoffs.
“I see a lot of competition there,” Boone said. “German, Deivi, Schmidt, Jhoulys Chacin who we brought in, all of these guys we feel like are certainly capable of stepping into that role, but we’ll see how the next five or six weeks unfold, and then obviously how we even start the season, it may look very different from where we’re at in May or June. I really feel good about the talent we have that will be competing for those final couple spots in the rotation at different times throughout the year.”
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