The New York Yankees' starting rotation has been dealing with some key injuries. With Luis Gil, Gerrit Cole and now Ryan Yarbrough on the shelf, the Yankees may have no choice but to turn to Marcus Stroman.
Stroman signed with the Yankees last year on a two-year, $37 million deal. He had a 4.31 ERA in 30 games last year and did not pitch in the postseason. The Yankees tried to trade him in the offseason, but injuries to Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil actually forced him to start the season in the starting rotation.
Stroman's struggles continued. He had an 11.57 ERA in three starts before a knee injury shut him down. His rehab assignment has not been smooth. He has a 6.97 ERA in three starts in Double-A. The Yankees have not announced a starter for Saturday, and pitching coach Matt Blake spoke on the decision to potentially bring him back after his most recent rehab start. He allowed five runs and 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings of work.
"It’s a conversation to see where we’re at," Blake said, according to The Athletic's Chris Kirschner.. “I think that’s the two main guys (Allan Winans and Stroman) in conversation for that spot with Yarbrough on the IL. As a group, we’ll figure out what makes sense for us from an inventory standpoint, when is Marcus ready to come back, all of those things. I don’t think we know for sure what we’re going to do after this outing."
Winans started for the Yankees on Monday. He gave the Yankees 4 1/3 innings, but gave up four earned runs. Gil is not supposed to return until August and Cole will be out for the whole season.
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Unless Stroman sees a magical turnaround, the Yankees may be looking for other options at the trade deadline. Trading Stroman could be borderline impossible with his contract and decline.
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