Every season has a point where the foundation gets tested — the Yankees are already there with their rotation.
While Max Fried has been everything they dreamed of and more, the rest of the unit is holding on by threads.
Fried owns a brilliant 1.43 ERA across 37.2 innings and looks like the lone stabilizer in a shaky group.
But one man can’t do it all, and the drop-off behind him has started to wear thin.
The Yankees are fighting for wins while patching holes every five days. It’s not sustainable.
Some encouraging signs from a key lefty
Carlos Rodon is the closest thing to a turnaround story in this rotation.
After two rocky years, he’s starting to show why the Yankees invested in his power left arm.
He’s carrying a 3.43 ERA through 42 innings and has allowed just two earned runs across his last three outings.
That’s a promising sign — but the team needs more than a two-man anchor to compete for a title, especially when the bottom of the rotation is actively hurting them.
The Will Warren experiment is hitting a wall
Will Warren came into the season with upside, but his 5.63 ERA over 24 innings paints a frustrating picture.
He ranks in the 12th percentile in chase rate, meaning hitters aren’t biting on his off-speed pitches.
Even worse, opponents are crushing the ball against him, with a 50.7% hard-hit rate that leads to crooked innings.
His fastball has been solid, holding hitters to a .138 average with a .207 slugging percentage, but the rest of his arsenal isn’t working.
His sweeper, considered one of his best offerings, is getting torched — hitters are batting .360 with a .560 slug.
Until he finds a secondary pitch that sticks, Warren is a liability rather than a reliable fifth starter.
Carrasco is hanging on — barely
Carlos Carrasco was never supposed to be a central part of this equation in 2025.
Now 38, he was initially expected to fight for a roster spot, not hold one of the final rotation jobs.
But injuries have forced the Yankees to rely on him, and the results have been rough.
Carrasco has a 5.90 ERA and gave up four earned runs in 3.1 innings against Baltimore on Wednesday.
That outing included two home runs and eight hits, pushing the Yankees into a hole they couldn’t climb out of.
Even Aaron Judge couldn’t bail them out. Carrasco’s days as a major contributor appear numbered — if not expired already.
Help isn’t on the way — not yet
Marcus Stroman isn’t returning anytime soon due to a lingering knee injury, which makes this hole even deeper.
That leaves general manager Brian Cashman watching the trade market for arms that can help them survive until July.
The hope is that Luis Gil can return healthy and make an impact, buying the team time for a bigger move.
In the meantime, it’s damage control.
This rotation isn’t deep — it’s duct-taped.
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