Gerrit Cole isn’t just the ace of the Yankees‘ pitching staff. He’s the safety net. The metronome. The dependable north star who gives the team a real shot to win every five days. And right now, his absence is casting a long shadow over a rotation scrambling to find its footing.
With Cole out indefinitely, Luis Gil sidelined for months, and Clarke Schmidt still ramping up for a mid-April return, the Yankees are dipping into the emergency reserves. And it’s already clear that the lifeboats don’t have the same engine as the yacht.
The Deep End With Will Warren and Carlos Carrasco
Instead of Cole vs. an opposing ace, it’s now Will Warren and 38-year-old Carlos Carrasco being tossed into the fire. Warren has shown flashes of potential, but he’s also a rookie getting his first taste of early-season big-league pressure. That learning curve is steep, especially against elite offenses. He struggled considerably in a small sample in 2024.
Carrasco, on the other hand, is a known commodity—but the kind that requires heavy monitoring. He had a promising spring, putting up a 1.69 ERA across 16 innings, which bought him some runway. But his most recent outing? Rough.
The veteran righty got lit up for five hits and three earned runs in just two innings of relief work. He served up a homer, struck out two, and showed some velocity uptick (averaging 92.3 mph), but it still wasn’t enough to quiet concerns. Carrasco’s 2023 season with Cleveland featured a bloated 5.64 ERA over 103.2 innings, and that’s the version the Yankees are praying they don’t see resurface.
A Star-Studded Rotation on Paper, Now Paper Thin
This was supposed to be a strength. With Cole, Carlos Rodón, Max Fried, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt, the Yankees entered spring training with what looked like a top-three rotation in the league. But fast-forward to early April, and it’s already on shaky ground.
Rodón stumbled in his second start of the year, giving up four earned runs in the first two innings against Arizona before settling in a bit. Fried, the Yankees’ $218 million free-agent splash, gave up seven hits and two earned runs in just 4.2 innings in his debut. He’s clearly still shaking off the rust, but in the meantime, the offense is having to carry the load night after night.
Pressure Cooker Mode for Carrasco
The Yankees didn’t expect Carrasco to be a major player this early in the season. He was brought in more as a depth piece, a veteran who could fill in when necessary. Now he’s suddenly holding the line for a battered rotation. And that’s a gamble.
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Carrasco’s best years are behind him, but if he can eat innings and give the Yankees four or five solid starts before Schmidt returns, it could make all the difference. Otherwise, New York’s rotation might continue to bleed runs—and the offense can’t be expected to put up 10 every night.