The Yankees offseason has been rather slow. They have added just two external additions — Ryan Weathers and Cade Winquest. Tuesday, Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake went on Yankees Hot Stove to provide some updates as the team begins to flock to Tampa.
Gerrit Cole
The Yankees missed their ace Gerrit Cole for the 2025 season. He underwent Tommy John Surgery last March and is slated to return in early June. Cole began his ramp up in September to get ready for the season, and has been throwing off the mound since.
“It’s always hard to say for sure when you’re working through the rehab process, but it’s been very encouraging so far to this point.” Blake said on the YES Network when speaking on the rehab. “We saw a lot of this, bullpen’s down the stretch in November in New York, and then he went home to California. He’s been kind of ramping back up out there, but things have been crisp. The delivery looks in a good spot. He’s responding well, so we’re making good progress right now.”
The Yankees don’t expect Cole to come back and instantly be Cy Young Cole again, and neither should you. At Cole’s age, the ramp up might be longer than for a younger pitcher because of the physical toll this surgery takes.
Ryan Weathers
The Yankees went out two weeks ago and acquired the lefty from the Marlins. According to the New York Post, there were multiple teams trying to aquire Weathers before the Yankees pulled the trigger on the deal.
“The kid [Weathers] I’ve been following since he was in high school and I was scouting him in the amateur draft.” Said Blake, who was working in the Guardians organization at the time. “He’s done a nice job growing into a major league version of himself. I think the biggest thing is just keeping him on the field for the most part.
“We’ve got to do a good job of having a nice on-ramp for him this spring and keep him healthy. But an electric arm, it’s a nice arsenal. Obviously he talked about using the two seam a little bit more. So that’s something that we’ve talked a little bit about. But yeah, I think there’s definitely a ceiling for him that he hasn’t touched yet.”
Weathers has a very high ceiling, though the concern for him is health. If Weathers can stay healthy, he can be a true force in the rotation, or in the bullpen.
Cam Schlittler
Cam Schlittler was a revelation for the Yankees. In a way, he came up and saved their season, in more ways than one. While I, and many others think Schlittler is the real deal, we have a very limited sample size to prove that at this point. A report surfaced earlier this offseason that Schlittler is working on adding a changeup to his already overpowering arsenal. Blake spoke on the development of Schlittler’s new pitch heading into camp.
“Yeah, it’s a tricky one because he gets really late swings on his fastball so you’re trying to avoid just having guys run into the pitch because it’s not enough separation or enough movement off of his fastball.” Blake said. “So you don’t want to just throw an average change up there and do these guys a favor. So it’s got to be something that’s integrated into the overall arsenal. It would be nice in a vacuum to have a change up, but I think making sure it has a real role in the arsenal will be important and not just be a placeholder.”
Schlittler adding a changeup with the velocity he naturally possesses would make him much more effective against left-handed hitters.
Camilo Doval
When the Yankees acquired Camilo Doval at the deadline, his role was slated to be in high leverage. He pitched his way out of high leverage, then back into it come the postseason. Doval has a lot of potential, and the Yankees think they found it.
“I think the biggest thing with him was obviously getting some trust to talk through the delivery a little bit.” Blake said. “He got more closed off and a little bit different tempo to his leg lift. I think that impacted some of the strength throughout early on with us.”
“I think we tried to just narrow him up a little bit and speed up his tempo a little bit to get him to be more aggressive, similar to the 2023 version when he was an All-Star, maybe one of the best relievers in the game. I think really we grew together through the course of the end of the last year into the postseason. He had some really meaningful innings for us down the stretch and I think we can kind of build on that going into this year. We’ve already had Preston go down and see him in the Dominican, continue to build that relationship and I think that’s going to be really important for us.”
Jake Bird
The Yankees also acquired Jake Bird in July. It seems he will have a bigger role with the team this season at the MLB levle. Last season, he only pitched three games for the Yankees, and was swiftly sent down after giving up a walk off three-run home run to Josh Jung. Still, the Yankees think there is more potential in Bird’s game.
“I think the biggest thing was just trusting his stuff in the zone.” Said Blake. “I think that him, his stuff is he’s got really big shapes, so the big sweeper, big breaking ball, the pitches are moving a lot, so we’ve got to get him in the zone at a high rate and limit a lot of the wall walks.”
“Obviously we kind of got beat up a little bit in those couple short outings with us and it was I think he’s had a great off season, adjusted the sinker a little bit to kind of move the profile, hopefully limit some of the contact quality to the righties on that. But overall it’s just going to be his own aggression for him and just trusting his stuff because he’s obviously had a really good start and Colorado the first half and maybe rent some tea in the second half.”
The Yankees are seemingly expecting big things from Bird this season. It should be interesting to see how Bird fairs with a bigger role on his shoulders.
Minor League Depth
The Yankees have one of the best farm systems in Baseball when it comes to pitching development. Their young arms are coveted around the league. They have accumulated an enviable amount of depth that are getting close to MLB ready. If some of these arms end up becoming what the league projects them to be, watch out.
“Well, they all [Elmer Rodriguez, Carlos Lagrange, and Ben Hess] took nice steps forward last year and I would say they’re further ahead than maybe where we thought Cam was at this point last year.” Blake said. “I think Cam really hadn’t quite emerged the way they had in this back half of the AA season and AAA for Elmer. But I think all three of those guys are taking some nice steps in their development.”
“They’re already in Tampa. They’re starting to ramp up. So we’re getting our eyes on them down there. But I think we’ve got as much depth in the starting rotation as we’ve had at any point that I’ve been here. So that’s really encouraging with those guys emerging.”
The Yankees will look inward towards their depth if any injuries pop up during spring training. In the long run, it could benefit the team in the long run.
Overall, the Yankees pitching department is in a really good place going into 2026. There are a lot of question marks, especially in the bullpen, but with the depth the Yankees have in there system, they should find a solution.
(Top Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)