Trading Carlos Narvaez to the Red Sox initially seemed like a complete disaster for the Yankees, handing their fierce rivals a steady player at catcher without adding an impact player for 2025.
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz opened the season in High-A with the Hudson Valley Renegades, and after dominating at the level, he moved up to Double-A.
The right-hander has flourished against better competition, as through nine starts he has a 2.81 ERA and 2.31 FIP for the Somerset Patriots.
Attacking the zone more aggressively and continuing to mix-in his entire repertoire, ERC is starting to gain real momentum towards a 2026 debut.
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Why Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz Could Be Part of the Yankees’ 2026 Rotation Plans
Over the last few seasons the Yankees have propelled themselves into one of the best pitching development organizations in the entire sport.
Michael King, Clarke Schmidt, Will Warren, Luis Gil, and Cam Schlittler are recent products of what Sam Briend and Matt Blake have built inside the organization, but more names are bursting through the dam.
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz was acquired from the Boston Red Sox for Carlos Narvaez, but with his new organization he’s transformed into a completely different pitcher.
The Yankees have lowered ERC’s arm angle and emphasized his sinker-sweeper combination, making him more of the east-west pitcher that we’ve seen with Michael King, Clarke Schmidt, and Will Warren.
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz (@Yankees No. 5 prospect) was nearly UNHITTABLE in his ninth Double-A start.
Final Line: 6.0 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 1 BB | 8 K🔥 pic.twitter.com/UiLW8w6pcY
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 3, 2025
What could propel Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz into being a quality starter at the big-league level is his depth of arsenal, sporting a curveball, splitter, cutter, and four-seam fastball.
The splitter has been a whiff machine for him this season, having tons of vertical depth which allows it to be effective against both righties and lefties.
A big curveball and sweeping slider allow for Cruz to spin the ball either laterally or vertically to get some ugly swings, with both pitches having good swing-and-miss rates as well.
The four-seamer and cutter provide different looks, giving him three different fastballs he can throw with distinct shapes to keep hitters guessing.
It’s resulted in an extremely productive MiLB season, Cruz is third in FIP (2.53) while being in the top 20 among qualified pitchers in both K% and GB%.
Given that he’s Rule 5 eligible at the end of the year, ERC will likely be added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster, and a productive offseason could result in a big 2026, similar to how Cam Schlittler broke out in 2025.
I don’t expect ERC to take the massive velocity jump that Cam Schlittler had from 2024 to 2025, but I could definitely see some refinements being made to get the most out of the 22-year-old.
He’s a very thin pitcher who has room to add some more weight, and his ~95 MPH fastballs could see an uptick in velocity with some more development.
An additional tick of velocity could go a long way, especially since Cruz can move the ball in all directions extremely well.
There also could be improvements made to the four-seam shape, I’ve seen the Yankees work miracles with Cam Schlittler and Clarke Schmidt, who had underwhelming fastball shapes for years.
It doesn’t need to be a dramatic improvement in IVB, adding another inch of vertical ride could also go a very long way for getting whiffs.
I’m very excited about Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and where he’s at as a pitcher, and I think the Yankees could have a legitimate big leaguer on their hands with tons of upside.