NEW YORK — Ryan Weathers did not overpower anybody Saturday at Yankee Stadium. He did not pile up double-digit strikeouts or cruise through a shutout. What he did might matter more than any flashy gem at this point in the Yankees’ season.
Weathers turned in five-plus solid innings during the Yankees’ 9-4 win over Baltimore, lowering his ERA to 3.03 through seven starts. It was the kind of outing that checks every box from a back-end starter. Efficient. Competitive. Enough to win.
The problem for Weathers is that the Yankees may not have room for him much longer.
Back-to-back performances put the pressure on
Friday night belonged to Will Warren. The right-hander spun 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs with only one earned, as the Yankees rolled to a 7-2 win over Baltimore. Warren lowered his ERA to 2.39, continuing a stretch that has turned him into a legitimate Yankees rotation piece.
Then it was Weathers’ turn Saturday. The left-hander gave up three runs, just one earned, while pitching into the sixth. Five strikeouts. Only three hits. After early trouble, he settled in and controlled the game.
Both Yankees starters delivered in a weekend series that increasingly looks like an audition nobody wants to lose.
The Yankees already own the best rotation ERA in the majors at 2.67. Max Fried has been a frontline ace with a 2.09 ERA. Cam Schlittler, the 25-year-old seventh-round pick, has been historically good at 1.51. Add Warren and Weathers, and this Yankees pitching staff has carried the club to a 22-11 record and first place in the AL East.
The Yankees have done all of that without Carlos Rodon or Gerrit Cole.
Rodon is closing in fast
Rodon made his second rehab start with Double-A Somerset on Thursday and dominated. He struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball, touching 95 mph with his fastball on a pitch count of 75.
The veteran Yankees lefty has allowed just one run across 9 2/3 rehab innings with a 12:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He is scheduled for a third rehab start Tuesday, which Boone indicated could be his last before a return to the Yankees’ rotation.
When asked how close he felt to coming back, the three-time All-Star offered a simple answer after his Somerset outing.
“I feel close,” Rodon said. “Obviously, I want to be pitching for my boys up there and trying to win ball games. I’m ready when they tell me they need me.”
If all goes well Tuesday, Rodon could make his 2026 Yankees debut as soon as May 10 in Milwaukee. The most likely move would send rookie Elmer Rodriguez back to the minors. Rodriguez made his MLB debut April 29 against Texas and struggled, walking four and hitting another in four innings.
The real squeeze starts when Cole returns
Rodon’s return is just the first domino. Cole, recovering from Tommy John surgery, has made three rehab starts and threw 60 pitches in his most recent outing at Somerset. His target return to the Yankees is late May to early June.
When Cole is cleared, the math gets cruel. A Yankees rotation of Fried, Schlittler, Rodon, and Cole leaves one spot for three candidates. Warren, Weathers, and whoever else is available would be fighting for a single opening.
Boone was asked about the coming squeeze after watching Warren and Weathers deliver strong outings on consecutive nights.
“That’s a lifetime away,” Boone said.
For Weathers, the Saturday start was another strong entry. He has allowed three runs or fewer in six of seven starts with the Yankees, who acquired him from Miami in January.
Weathers adjusted mid-game to stay sharp
The early innings were tough. Weathers walked the leadoff hitters in the first and second, pushing his pitch count to 40 through six outs. Neither runner scored, but the inefficiency was clear.
When he fell behind Orioles infielder Blaze Alexander 2-0 to start the third, Weathers abandoned his windup and pitched from the stretch. It was the same mid-game adjustment Yankees teammate Max Fried has recently made.
Weathers explained why the change helped him settle into a rhythm.
“Sometimes windups can have more moving parts,” Weathers said. “The stretch is literally just pick your leg up and go. I think that simplified what I need to do.”
From that point on, he did not walk another batter. He later returned to the full windup and kept the Orioles quiet until Pete Alonso homered with one out in the fourth.
Boone noted the variety that made the Yankees starter effective despite Weathers not being fully satisfied with his execution.
“Had a lot of different ways to get you out today,” Boone said of Weathers. “I thought sweeper, changeup, fastball were all playing well.”
Trouble arrived in the sixth when Taylor Ward and Gunnar Henderson singled. Adley Rutschman grounded to Yankees first baseman Ben Rice, who hesitated to throw to second. Nobody was retired, loading the bases. Reliever Jake Bird took over, and two unearned runs came in.
Weathers walked away with a win. The bigger question is whether the Yankees will keep sending him out there once their full arsenal is ready.
After the game, Weathers kept it simple.
“Any day you can get a big league win is a good day,” Weathers said.
It may have to be. Because the crunch that Boone called a “lifetime away” is getting closer by the start. Do you think the Yankees should keep both Weathers and Warren in the rotation even when Rodon and Cole come back? Share your thoughts in the comments.
What do you think?
