WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Yankees will have to find pitchers who can pitch this season.
In the wake of a lat strain that has knocked Luis Gil out for months and the elbow concerns that Gerrit Cole himself called “alarming,” two spots have opened in the Yankees rotation.
“That’s two big, big parts of our team,” manager Aaron Boone said of Gil and Cole. “There’s no sugarcoating — that’s a blow.
“But it’s also a great opportunity for someone else and people that we believe in.”
Behind Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt are Marcus Stroman and likely Will Warren.
The next wave includes Carlos Carrasco, a veteran who is in camp on a non-roster invitation, Saturday starter Allan Winans and prospects such as Sean Boyle and Cam Schlittler.
Warren, a solid prospect who debuted without much success last season, has looked like a new pitcher in camp.
He has struck out 11 and allowed two hits and one run in eight Grapefruit League innings.
“Could be,” Boone said, before the Yankees’ 5-2 loss to the Astros at the Park of the Palm Beaches, when asked if Warren was the next man up. “I love how he looks. I feel like there’s no doubt in my mind he has what it takes to be a successful starting pitcher in this league.
“Is that ready to be now? Sure looks like he’s gotten better over the winter. He’s gotten better this spring. So he’s put himself in the mix for that conversation.”
If not Warren, perhaps Carrasco could win a rotation spot and roster spot.
The 15-year major leaguer has encouraged this spring, in which his fastball velocity has ticked up a bit.
If neither, perhaps Winans could surprise. The Yankees claimed the righty off waivers from the Braves in January and successfully snuck him through waivers.
The 29-year-old was a 17th-round pick of the Mets in 2018 and taken by the Braves in the minor league Rule 5 draft before the 2022 season. He appeared in eight major league games with Atlanta the past two seasons.
The Yankees made two more camp cuts, reassigning righty Eric Reyzelman to minor league camp and optioning righty Michael Arias to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
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