Hal Steinbrenner didn’t hedge. Asked where the New York Yankees stand heading into 2026, he offered one of the most confident assessments of the winter.
“I really love our starting rotation next year,” Steinbrenner told reporters, including Pete Caldera of the USA Today Network.
It’s a bold read on a staff built around injured stars, young arms still proving themselves and very little margin for error.
So, is this realistic or just hopeful thinking?
The Yankees are counting on Gerrit Cole to return early in the first half after missing 2025 following Tommy John surgery. Carlos Rodon is working back from an elbow procedure of his own. If both regain anything close to their peak form, New York instantly has a top-tier one-two punch again.
Behind them, the picture is less settled but intriguing. Will Warren gave the Yankees needed innings in 2025 and flashed stretches where his fastball-slider mix looked like mid-rotation material. Cam Schlittler arrived late and showed why the organization is so high on him, with strikeout stuff that still needs refinement but clearly plays. Depth options behind them — including internal swingmen and prospects pushing from Triple-A — will be asked to cover the innings that once belonged to Clarke Schmidt, who is out after Tommy John surgery.
That’s a lot of ifs for a team that just watched its season get tilted by a six-to-seven week swoon. Cole has never come back from a surgery like this at 35. Rodon struggled before he broke down. Warren and Schlittler have never shouldered a full-season load in a pennant race. One setback turns a strength into a scramble.
Steinbrenner also said the Yankees have “tried and will continue to try” to add a star from Japan, but his public comfort level with the current rotation makes a full-court press for Tatsuya Imai feel less certain.
If the Yankees are right about this group, the rotation becomes the backbone of a contender. If they’re wrong, that confidence may age about as well as last summer’s standings.
