Carlos Rodon will start the 2023 season on the IL, joining Frankie Montas among the starters that will begin the season on the shelf.
Tiki’s instant reaction? Things are already looking bleak for the Yankees pitching staff.
“This starts to feel like the worst-case scenario coming to fruition in real time,” Tiki said. “We know that [Luis Severino] is hopefully back. He feels like he's back, but he's not being allowed to pitch in the World Baseball Classic, which was disappointing to him, but it's probably the best thing for the Yankees going forward. But there's a question mark still, can he stay healthy for an entire season?
“We have Nestor Cortes who was sublime last year. Sub-three ERA his ERA+ was one of the best in baseball, made the All-Star team, but he climbed near 200 innings and he's never been over 93. What's going to be his physical, emotional, mental response to having to do that again now that the expectation is higher and there's a book on him?”
Severino has extended injury history, while Cortes tweaked his hamstring at the start of camp. Questions are already being brought up before the season begins, and it seems like the Yankees’ pitching depth, which they already don’t have much of, is going to be immediately tested.
“[Domingo] German and [Clarke] Schmidt, neither one of them are really showing themselves as the fifth starter or the elite guy that the team needs,” Tiki said. “So all of a sudden, the Yankees, who had questions that depth, come now to the regular season, which is…only three weeks away from the start of the regular season, with severe questions in the starting rotation.”
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