Just when the Yankees thought their pitching situation couldn’t get more complicated, another domino fell Saturday as the club placed right-hander Marcus Stroman on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation, further destabilizing a rotation already walking a tightrope through the early weeks of the season.
The roster move comes on the heels of Stroman’s disastrous Friday night outing against the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium, where he recorded just two outs while surrendering five earned runs before exiting a rain-shortened 9-1 defeat. Subsequent imaging confirmed what many suspected after watching his labored performance.
Pitching staff in flux but Schmidt boost soon
With Stroman sidelined, the Yankees’ already paper-thin rotation loses another established arm, accelerating the timeline for Clarke Schmidt‘s anticipated return to the starting five.
“It definitely feels good,” Schmidt told reporters Saturday while discussing his recent rehab appearances with Double-A Somerset. “The results, the stuff, the command—everything has been trending in the right direction.”
The right-hander now appears set to rejoin the major league rotation during the upcoming midweek series against Kansas City, potentially starting Tuesday or Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
Winans reinforcement may prove more than a stopgap
To fill the immediate roster vacancy created by Stroman’s absence, the Yankees recalled right-hander Allan Winans from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 29-year-old journeyman brings limited big-league experience from stints with the Atlanta Braves over the past two seasons, where he compiled a troubling 7.20 ERA across 40 innings of work.
While Winans showed promise in the minors this season with 2⅔ scoreless frames, his arrival underscores the organization’s pressing depth concerns. With ace Gerrit Cole recovering from Tommy John surgery and promising Luis Gil sidelined by a lat strain, the Yankees continue scrambling for functional pitching options behind current staff leader Max Fried.
Stroman’s ongoing struggles
This latest setback further complicates what has already been a challenging Yankees tenure for Stroman. The veteran entered 2025 hoping to recapture his previous All-Star form after a precipitous decline during the second half of 2024 when he posted a concerning 6.27 ERA across 20 starts from June onward.
His 2025 numbers tell an even grimmer story: 12 earned runs allowed in just 9⅓ innings, equating to an alarming 11.57 ERA. The timing proves particularly problematic for Stroman, who inked a two-year, $37 million contract with New York before the 2024 campaign. That deal includes a conditional $16 million player option for 2026 that automatically vests if he reaches 140 innings this season—a benchmark that grows increasingly distant with each day spent on the IL.
Despite these struggles, Yankees manager Aaron Boone continues expressing cautious optimism about Stroman’s potential to rebound.
“I do because I think the movement qualities are there,” Boone responded when questioned about Stroman’s viability as an effective starter. “There’s probably some adjustments we can all make with him that hopefully allow him to go out there and be effective. The stuff is not much different than the first half of last season now. So we’ve just got to execute a little better.”
Schmidt’s return reshapes decision-making
Prior to Stroman’s injury, the Yankees faced a looming roster crunch with Schmidt’s impending return. Management would have needed to choose between optioning rookie Will Warren back to Triple-A—despite his first MLB win on Saturday—or potentially losing Carlos Carrasco, who lacks minor-league options and would require clearing waivers.
Warren has shown flashes of promise across his three starts, allowing two runs or fewer in two outings. Meanwhile, Carrasco continues struggling with a bloated 7.71 ERA and remains squarely on the bubble.
Stroman’s absence temporarily simplifies this dilemma—though the reprieve may prove short-lived.
The broader challenge
When the season began, the Yankees hoped their blend of experienced arms and emerging talent could weather Cole’s extended absence. While Fried has performed admirably atop the rotation, inconsistency from Stroman, Carrasco, and the rookies has exposed vulnerabilities during a particularly demanding 13-day stretch without scheduled rest.
As injuries accumulate through April, pressure intensifies on general manager Brian Cashman to evaluate potential trade market solutions earlier than anticipated. Though still relatively early in the campaign, the rotation’s structural weaknesses appear increasingly difficult to ignore.
The Yankees conclude their weekend series against San Francisco on Sunday before welcoming the Royals to the Bronx, where Schmidt will likely make his long-awaited 2025 debut.
With Stroman temporarily out of the equation, Carrasco struggling to find consistency, and the trade deadline still months away, the organization pins considerable hope on Schmidt providing much-needed stability to a rotation in disarray, while buying precious time for the front office to chart their next move.
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