The New York Yankees have been ravaged with injuries this spring training. Giancarlo Stanton may need season-ending surgery, Luis Gil is out for months with a lat strain, and Gerrit Cole will miss the season recovering from Tommy John. That puts Yankees prospect Will Warren in the spotlight as a potential rotation piece. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Yankees got trade calls on the prospect this offseason but believe in the youngster.
“Multiple teams tried to trade for right-hander Will Warren this offseason after a middling six-outing big league cameo last year ended in a 10.32 ERA,” Passan reported.”New York believed Warren was better than that, and he is rewarding the support with an impressive spring and likely rotation spot.”
Warren was not great in his MLB debut last year but has improved this spring. In four spring training appearances, he has three wins and a 1.45 ERA in 11.2 innings. That great performance could not have come at a better time with all of the injuries in the Yankees rotation.
Warren is the top pitching prospect but not the only one. The organization is also high on Chase Hampton, who is out for the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Health was always going to be important for the Bombers after losing Juan Soto but no one could have prepared for what happened this spring.
The Yankees need a great season from Will Warren
Warren may not make the team out of camp, with veteran Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco also pitching well this spring. But at some point, he will be on the Yankees this year. And when he gets to the pro team, they need better performances than what he gave last year. He gave up eight runs in 4.1 innings against the Angels and three runs in one inning against the Pirates, the two lowlights.
The Yankees publically considered trading Marcus Stroman this offseason and may have offered him to teams who called on Warren. But his poor season last year combined with his high cap number took away any market he had. Thankfully for Brian Cashman, he did not trade either pitcher because he will need them both.
After the Cole injury, many fans and pundits thought the Yankees might trade for a pitcher. But the dwindling market this close to Opening Day has left them without any options. They may have to wait for the trade deadline to swing a big deal for a pitcher.
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