Why Yankees are unlikely to use six-man rotation with potential logjam coming 18%
By Gary Phillips0%
4/27/2026, 11:00:09 AM
Topics: Sports
BS Summary: This article contains 6 faulty reasoning types, including Biased Writer Voice, Optimism Bias, and Hasty Generalization, with Horn Effect as the most egregious example at 13.2% saturation with 70 hits. Analysis detected 259 faulty-reasoning hits from 530 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 33% and a BS Rank of 18% (17,546 of 21,204 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 82.70% of the article peer group.
HOUSTON — With Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón’s rehab assignments underway, the Yankees’ rotation could experience some overcrowding in the near future.
Their returns are not imminent, as Rodón, recovering from an offseason elbow cleanup procedure and some hamstring tightness, made the first of at least three rehab starts on Friday.
Cole, meanwhile, is two starts into his assignment following Tommy John surgery.
It’s unclear how many more minor league starts he’ll need, but he’s not expected back until late-May or early-June.
So there’s plenty of time for another injury or poor performance to occur within a Yankees’ rotation that currently consists of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers following Luis Gil’s well-deserved demotion on Sunday.
But what happens if those first four starters are all healthy when Rodón and Cole are back?
With Gil already an odd man out, could the Yankees switch to a six-man rotation?
“Obviously, we’d have to have a conversation about it, but it’s just difficult to do when you don’t have the extra [reliever],” pitching coach Matt Blake told the Daily News.
“If you have eight relievers and you go down to seven relievers, it’s just hard to execute that on a regular basis.
“The starters have to consistently give you length because seven relievers is just a tricky dynamic.
It just takes one blow-up to hurt the pen.”
Blake said the Yankees have considered a six-man rotation in the past, but they haven’t stuck with one for any extended stretch for the reasons he mentioned above.
With that in mind, Blake thinks Weathers and Warren have stuff that could play up in the bullpen should the Yankees’ run of good health continue.
He also mentioned Gil along those lines, but that was before the righty was demoted, and it’s hard to see him being an effective reliever given his extended issues with command and velocity.
Weathers has experience in the pen and is quickly approaching his innings total from last year.
He’s thrown 33.2 innings through six starts this season after totaling just 38.1 innings during an injury-riddled 2025 season with the Marlins.
Stashing Weathers in the pen could be a way to manage his arm.
Similar logic could be applied to Warren, who is coming off a career-high workload after logging 162.1 innings over 33 starts as a rookie last year.
“There probably would be an adjustment period for any of these guys to go to the pen and learn a pen lifestyle, routine and expectations,” Blake said.
“It’d be hard to just pivot right to it, but any of these guys could be viable down there.”
Blake added that previous bullpen experience will factor into the Yankees’ decisions, should any need to be made.
Again, there’s still time for these matters to resolve themselves.
“It’s just too many unknowns with too much time ahead of us to worry too much about it,” Blake said.
“A lot of times, it’ll sort itself out.
Whether it be performance or health, we’ll have a clear indication.
“And if it’s a hard call, that’s a really good place to be.”
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27%flagged-word coverageMatt Blake
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