SAN FRANCISCO — Will Warren will take the mound Saturday at Oracle Park looking to do what he did all last season for the Yankees: absorb innings, throw strikes and give his team a chance to win.
But when the 26-year-old right-hander walks to the rubber for his 2026 debut, two things will be different. One is the number on his back. The other is where he stands to deliver the pitch.
Both changes trace back to deeply personal choices, and both could help define what kind of pitcher Warren becomes for the Yankees this season and beyond.
Yankees workhorse proved his worth as a rookie
Warren was the stabilizing presence the Yankees rotation needed in 2025. With Gerrit Cole out for the season following Tommy John surgery and Luis Gil also sidelined, the Yankees turned to Warren and he never left.
He made 33 starts and threw 162.1 innings, both the most by any MLB rookie last season. He struck out 171 batters, also the most among first-year pitchers. He went 9-8 with a 4.44 ERA and a 4.07 FIP, accumulating 2.1 fWAR.
The ERA was inflated by a handful of rough outings. Warren allowed two earned runs or fewer in 11 of his final 15 starts. His fastball was a weapon, with opponents hitting just .216 against it. His sweeper was less effective, as hitters batted .336 with a .569 slugging percentage against the pitch.
That sweeper problem is one reason the Yankees pitching staff spent the offseason working on an adjustment that has now become the story of Warren’s Yankees spring.
Warren switches to No. 29 to honor the cousin he lost
The number change is about much more than aesthetics. The Yankees starter switched from No. 98 to No. 29 this season to honor his cousin, Nathan Griffith, who drowned at age 17 on July 25, 2021.
Griffith had been fishing with friends early that morning near Brandon, Mississippi, when he fell off a boat into the murky waters of Ross Barnett Reservoir. Warren, already dealing with side effects from a COVID-19 vaccination, learned the news when his mother called him in tears.
“Kind of a freak accident,” a somber Warren told the New York Daily News on Friday.
Griffith was also a right-handed pitcher. He wore No. 29 throughout his youth career and as a standout at Brandon High School. Warren had wanted the Yankees number last season but it was already taken, first by teammate Clayton Beeter and then by Austin Slater after Beeter was traded to the Nationals.
“This year, when it became available, I was like, ‘I’m gonna try to get it,'” Warren said. “‘If not, I’ll keep 98, but 29 would mean a lot to me.'”
Warren described his cousin with warmth and humor.
“My cousin was a big old goober and got into trouble all the time, but he was really good at baseball, and he was a really good friend to a lot of people,” Warren said. “Stuff’s gonna get bad, and you’re gonna have bad days. But if you can show up and be there for people and put a smile on people’s face, then you’re carrying on his life. So for me to wear 29, that’s a big deal for a lot of people back home, and it’s a big deal for me too.”
A quiet rubber tweak fueled outstanding spring for Yankees starter
The other change happened without ceremony during spring training. Warren moved to the third-base side of the pitching rubber, a subtle positional adjustment designed to create more deception and open up a wider angle for his sweeper.
The results were immediate. Warren posted a 1.42 ERA over 25.1 spring innings for the Yankees. Manager Aaron Boone said the performance went “under the radar” amid other camp storylines.
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake explained the thinking behind the move.
“He moved over on the rubber for a little more deception. That’s played well. It’s given him more space in the zone for the sweeper, which I think has been a huge addition to the attack plan,” Blake said. “He’s just becoming more well-rounded and understands himself a little bit more.”
The sweeper was Warren’s biggest vulnerability in 2025. Opponents slugged .569 against it. By shifting his starting position on the rubber, Warren changes the release point angle hitters see, making the sweeper harder to pick up and expanding its effective zone.
Warren’s role in the Yankees rotation is secure for now
With Cole and Carlos Rodon both on the Yankees injured list to start the season, Warren has a guaranteed rotation spot behind Max Fried and Cam Schlittler. He will be the third Yankees starter to pitch in the opening series at Oracle Park.
Blake pointed to growth that extends beyond mechanics.
“Obviously, he had a lot of growth last year and built on it this offseason,” the Yankees pitching coach said.
Warren’s four-seam fastball has also shown signs of improvement this spring. Early Yankees camp data suggests it is running about a mile per hour faster with roughly two inches more induced vertical movement, generating a 37 percent whiff rate in his first two spring outings.
With a new number on his back, a new angle on the rubber and 33 starts of Yankees experience behind him, the club is hoping their quiet workhorse is ready to take a significant step forward in his second full season.
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