Spring training has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for the New York Yankees. Giancarlo Stanton has not made an appearance and is sidelined indefinitely due to his elbows and calf. Luis Gil suffered a lat injury, which will likely sideline him for at least half of the 2025 campaign. The cherry on top is Gerrit Cole suffering a season-ending elbow injury. He underwent Tommy John Surgery which will also cost him part of next season.
The Gil and Cole injuries make what looked like an elite Yankees rotation before spring training began, look average at best. Those injuries have also made it a certainty that Marcus Stroman will be in the team’s Opening Day rotation despite an offseason full of trade rumors, and also created a roster competition for that final rotation spot between Will Warren and Carlos Carrasco.
Warren is the pitcher most Yankees fans would like to see in that role, and it’s tough to blame them. Warren, one of the top pitching prospects in the organization, has thrived this spring, allowing just five earned runs and nine hits while issuing three walks in 15.2 innings of work across five appearances (four starts). He has 16 strikeouts in those outings, and has allowed just one home run. He has looked like a bonafide MLB-caliber arm.
Unfortunately, sometimes, Opening Day roster decisions aren’t only about carrying the best 26 players. Depth is crucial, especially when it comes to starting pitching. The Yankees have lost two high-end starters to long-term injuries, forcing them to already dip into their depth before the regular season began. Depth being as important as it is could be the deciding factor when it comes to awarding that final rotation spot to Carrasco.
With the way Boone has raved about Carrasco’s swing and miss stuff, indications are that Carrasco is likely to be in the rotation. He has an opt out on March 22. I see these two sides staying together. Yanks need rotation depth so it would be unwise to lose Carrasco
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As YES Network’s Jack Curry notes, Carrasco can opt out of his minor league deal on March 22, which is three days away as of this writing. The Yankees can risk leaving him off of their roster at that point, but Carrasco would likely bolt if they do that.
Carlos Carrasco could win controversial Yankees roster battle for reasons entirely out of Will Warren’s control
This puts the Yankees in a tough spot. Warren is the better arm with a lot more potential. Carrasco has had a good spring, but Warren has been better, and Carrasco has struggled mightily at the MLB level for several years now. Among 117 pitchers who have thrown at least 350 innings since the start of the 2021 campaign, Carrasco ranks 115th with a 5.32 ERA. 113th with a 1.44 WHIP, and 104th with 2.5 fWAR. To put it simply, Carrasco has been one of the worst pitchers in the majors over the last four seasons, and that includes a solid 2022 campaign.
In an ideal world, Warren would open the season as New York’s No. 5 starter, but the Yankees making that decision could cost them Carrasco. He might not be the most appealing option, but he’s certainly more appealing than Allan Winans, who probably ranks behind Carrasco in the rotation pecking order. The only starting pitcher on their 40-man roster who is healthy and not expected to make the team is Brent Headrick, a southpaw who the Yankees claimed off of waivers in February. Headrick has not made a single start at the MLB level, and has a 5.97 ERA in 15 MLB appearances.
Even if Warren doesn’t make the team in March, he will almost certainly make a lot of starts for the Yankees this season given the amount of starting pitching injuries that occur nowadays. Given that, it’d be unwise to let Carrasco go when starting pitching depth is already an issue in the Bronx.
