David Lennon: Yankees' pitchers have led the way all season, but now is when it really starts to matter
Yankees' Max Fried pitches during the first inning against the Padres at Petco Park on Friday in San Diego, Calif. Credit: Getty Images/Sean M. Haffey
The first time Gerrit Cole and Max Fried officially became rotation mates was July 22, when they shared a Bronx doubleheader against the Pirates.
The momentous occasion was roughly 16 months late, since Cole wound up being lost to Tommy John surgery not long after GM Brian Cashman lured Fried in December 2024 with an eight-year, $218 million contract -- the offseason move designed to create a super-staff for the Yankees. Then, of course, Fried wound up on the IL with the bone bruise of his left elbow, so he was a spectator when Cole made his long-awaited return in June.
Point is, no matter how much planning and strategizing a team devotes to its pitching staff -- we’re talking incalculable hours spent in planes, buses and clubhouse back rooms -- rarely does real life follow that blueprint. And no sooner did Fried recover from that bone bruise than he boomeranged to the IL three weeks later with the same injury.
Which brings us to the current state of the offensively challenged Yankees’ superpower. Now that Fried is back (again) and apparently healthy after his efficient 5 2/3 innings in Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Padres at Petco Park, Aaron Boone & Co. can begin tinkering with the pitching staff for October. Or maybe experimenting is the better word.
We witnessed it upon Fried’s exit, when Boone went to Will Warren -- not merely to get him some relief work, but with two outs in the sixth. By now, this wasn’t all that surprising, as Warren figured to be earmarked for the bullpen, even after his primary competitor for a starting job -- Ryan Weathers -- landed on the IL with a left forearm flexor strain two weeks ago.
The Yankees’ bullpen, as good as it's been, needs the reinforcements that Cashman declined to supply at the trade deadline. And Warren could become the tip of that spear with Friday’s 2 1/3 innings, which were perfect after his four-pitch walk to Ty France, the first batter he faced.
“Whatever role I’m in, I’ll embrace it,” Warren said on the YES postgame, and this relief cameo was coming off Sunday’s seven-inning gem (7 IP, 1 R, 7 SO) vs. the Red Sox, his best start this season. “It’s kind of like Paul Blackburn. He’s got five, six elite pitches out there, so it’s not typically something you see out of the bullpen. Hopefully (I) would go along with that.”
Since that first Cole/Fried team-up on July 22, the Yankees’ pitching staff has MLB’s best ERA (2.80) and lowest opponents’ batting average (.215). They’re second to the Rays in WHIP (1.12) and tied with the Dodgers for third in strikeout percentage (25.6). Those six-week numbers, however, don’t necessarily forecast the future. There are plenty of other factors at play.
From the rotation’s standpoint, Cam Schlittler is neck-and-neck with Toronto’s Dylan Cease for the AL Cy Young Award, but he’s also in uncharted territory at 171 2/3 innings -- a sizable jump from last year’s 149 2/3 split between Somerset, Scranton and the Bronx. Cole has been superb, but he’s 18 starts deep into his return from Tommy John rehab, a period when most recovering pitchers are still navigating their way back. Up to now, not Cole, who is 8-7 with a 3.29 ERA and averaging nearly six innings.
“Overall, solid,” Cole said. “Feeling really good. Giving us a chance to win a lot of the time. Still looking to make improvements here as we go down the stretch.”
Same for the Yankees’ staff as a whole. We’ve already touched on Fried’s peculiar ailment, and the fact that it’s required two different IL stints -- along with being on a pitch count Friday in his second start back -- suggests he’s not totally out of the woods yet. But trying to protect Fried and Cole and Schlittler in order to save bullets for October is a lot to ask as the Yankees are chasing the division-leading Rays (while fending off the Red Sox behind them).
“For me, it’s more about we have to win these games,” Fried said Friday night. “So I’m going there just trying to put up zeroes. Ideally, it would be better to be 12 pitches or less [each inning] but it’s more important to make sure that you’re putting up zeroes as much as you can.”
As for the bullpen, they’ve been going full throttle for what feels like months, or about the time Aaron Judge’s rib injury shut down the Yankees’ offensive production. Blackburn, who is fourth among MLB relievers with 75 1/3 innings, surrendered Friday’s walk-off homer to Luis Campusano in the 10th. Brent Headrick leads all relievers with 71 appearances, and his otherwise airtight season had a sobering blip last month, when he was tagged for four hits and three runs in 2/3 of an inning against the Astros.
Stuff happens. But these outliers serve as reminders that they’re human. The Yankees can’t have the bullpen running on fumes come October. That’s where the cavalry comes in, such as Warren, presumably Clarke Schmidt -- who could return from his rehab assignment during the upcoming homestand -- and possibly Weathers, if he’s able to throw again in the coming weeks. Those would be some high-quality additions to a relief corps that could use a breather, as well as a chance for the rotation to lean on them for a few innings, too.
If this all goes according to plan, obviously. But the Yankees have pitched exceptionally well despite a few detours along the way, and for the most part, the pillars of their mound operation remain strong. Now it’s a matter of keeping them that way for another three weeks -- and what the Yankees hope is a deep run through October.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
