And so we turn our attention to the Yankees pitchers. The starting rotation has had some necessary changes. The bullpen has changed beyond recognition.

Obviously, the major need is to cover for the absence because of injury of Gerrit Cole. He’ll be out until June.

Let’s see how things are going. Here’s the March figures:

Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP
Clayton Beeter rp	0	0	0.00	1	0	1	0	0	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	1.000
Nick Burdi rp	1	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	0	1.1	0	0	0	1	2	0.75
Caleb Ferguson rp*	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	0	2.1	0	0	0	2	2	0.86
Victor Gonzalez rp*	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	0	0.1	1	0	0	1	0	6.00
Ian Hamilton rp	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	0	3.0	1	0	0	0	3	0.33
Clay Holmes rp	0	0	0.00	3	0	3	0	3	3.0	5	0	0	0	0	1.67
Jonathan Loaisiga rp	1	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	0	3.0	7	0	0	1	2	2.67
Marcus Stroman sp	1	0	0.00	1	1	0	0	0	6.0	4	3	0	2	4	1.00
Luke Weaver rp	1	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	0	1.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Carlos Rodon sp*	0	0	2.08	1	1	0	0	0	4.1	5	1	1	3	4	1.85
Clarke Schmidt sp	0	0	5.06	1	1	0	0	0	5.1	7	3	3	0	5	1.31
Nestor Cortes sp*	0	0	7.20	1	1	0	0	0	5.0	5	4	4	2	5	1.40
Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP

And also those for April:

Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP
Nick Burdi rp	0	0	0.00	5	0	1	0	0	5.0	2	0	0	4	6	1.20
Clay Holmes rp	1	0	0.00	11	0	7	0	7	10.1	7	3	0	1	13	0.77
Jonathan Loaisiga rp	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	0	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0.00
Josh Maciejewski rp*	0	0	0.00	0	0	1	0	0	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Michael Tonkin rp	0	1	0.00	2	0	1	0	0	2.2	4	2	0	0	1	1.50
Cody Poteet sp	1	0	1.50	1	1	0	0	0	6.0	6	1	1	0	4	1.00
Ron Marinaccio rp	1	0	2.35	6	0	2	0	0	7.2	3	2	2	3	7	0.78
Carlos Rodon sp*	2	1	2.54	5	5	0	0	0	28.1	20	8	8	11	26	1.09
Victor Gonzalez rp*	1	1	2.70	11	0	5	0	2	10.0	5	4	3	6	4	1.10
Clarke Schmidt sp	2	1	2.81	5	5	0	0	0	25,2	23	9	8	13	29	1.40
Jake Cousins rp	1	0	3.00	2	0	1	0	0	3.0	4	3	1	3	4	2.33
Nestor Cortes sp*	1	3	3.41	6	6	0	0	0	37.0	34	14	14	5	32	1.05
Luke Weaver rp	2	0	3.44	10	0	1	0	0	18.1	11	7	7	4	17	0.82
Ian Hamilton rp	0	0	3.65	9	0	1	0	0	12.1	9	5	5	7	9	1.30
Dennis Santana rp	1	0	3.95	11	0	3	0	1	13.2	10	6	6	5	9	1.10
Luis Gil sp	1	1	4.01	5	5	0	0	0	24.2	15	12	11	19	35	1.38
Marcus Stroman sp	1	1	4.56	5	5	0	0	0	25.2	26	13	13	13	28	1.52
Caleb Ferguson rp*	0	3	5.59	11	0	3	0	0	9.2	10	9	6	4	11	1.45
Jose Trevino rp/c	0	0	18.00	1	0	1	0	0	1.0	2	2	2	1	0	3.00
Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP

Starters:

From last year’s rotation, Domingo German, Jhony Brito and Luis Severino have gone. We have paid mention to Brito’s move in the article about the incoming batters. At San Diego, he has become a reliever.

For some reason, Domingo German has been given another chance by Pittsburgh. He has a contract in their minor league system. So far it is not going well. He also maintains he doesn’t have a drink problem. Time to give up until he owns his problems.

Luis Severino has joined the starting rotation of the crosstown Mets. He has a 2-2 record in 8 starts, and seems to be overcoming his discouragements.

Once we also subtract Cole, it leaves the Yankees with a rotation of Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil.

LHP Cortes might be considered a surprise choice for opening day. In his 7 starts so far, he has 1 win and 3 losses, but it has to be noted that 1 loss came in a game when he did not get much run support, and 1 no-decision likewise. Consequently, he could easily have been three-and-two, so it is too early to write him off yet. Having played in only 12 games in 2023, there is still a question mark about how the Yankees will use him when Cole is back.

Another left hander, Rodon was someone else who laboured throughout 2023. In a season shortened by injuries, he only made 14 starts finishing with a 3-8 record. Through to the end of April, he has only 1 weak start (16th April in Toronto), and only one strong one (22nd April facing Oakland at the Stadium). The game against Oakland was exceptional with Rodon giving up only 1 hit and 2 walks in 7 innings. Despite not giving up any runs, the game ended in a win for Oakland, with the Yankees’ bats being so silent.

Clarke Schmidt did better than the Yankees expected in 2023, and seems to be heading for a repeat of that this year. The Yankees have won 5 of the 6 games that Schmidt has appeared in through to the end of April. In 5 of those games he has lasted to the 5th inning or beyond. However, surprisingly the game that he lost was not the one that he left early. On April 29th at Baltimore, he pitched 5.2 innings and gave up only one run. However, the curse of the lack of run support struck again and the Yankees lost 0-2. Schmidt is 2-1 to the 29th of the month.

Righthander Marcus Stroman is a little too self-absorbed and flash for my taste. My first question when I heard he was signing for the Yankees was whether he could be a team-player. My second thought was that his ego would fit in well in a city like New York. In his first six starts, he has 2 wins and 1 loss. He has only completed six innings in his first two appearances. In the second of these, he conceded no runs (April 5, at home to Toronto), but once more the Yankees could not put any runs on the board. The Yankees lost 0-3.

The surprise member of the rotation, Luis Gil is excelling expectations after not playing at all in 2023. In his five starts so far, he is growing into his role. The game in Milwaukee on the 26th saw him in a little bit of a muddle. He gave up 7 hits and 5 runs and was very fortunate to get a no-decision. However, prior to that his first four starts saw him on the track of steady improvement. His 1-1 record included a game that once more New York might have won if they had produced more than one run in the game.

In April, a doubleheader in Cleveland gave the Yankees the opportunity to add an extra player, and they chose to add a starter in Cody Poteet. Poteet is another who did not play in 2023 after a couple of seasons with the Miami Marlins.

Relievers

Last Year’s relievers? Michael King (now 2-3 at San Diego), Albert Abreu (now playing in Japan), Wandy Peralta (ERA of 4.73 in San Diego), Randy Vasquez (struggling with a 5.87 ERA and 2 losses, also in San Diego), Jimmy Cordero (having a terrible time of it in Japan), Greg Weissert (1-1 at Boston), Keynan Middleton (on the injured list for the St Louis Cardinals), Ryan Weber (hasn’t played this year), Colten Brewer (playing for Chicago Cubs infrequently), Deivi Garcia (1-2 at the Chicago White Sox), Zach McAllister (hasn’t played anywhere this year), Matt Krook (on the 40-man roster for Baltimore, and assigned to their triple-A club in Norfolk), Matt Bowman (at Minnesota Twins), Anthony Misiewicz (still at the Yankees but at Scranton (AAA), Yoendrys Gomez (also at Scranton), and Frankie Montas (2-2 at Cincinnati).

That’s a lot of changes.

Two I haven’t mentioned in that paragraph are the injured Tommy Kahnle and the aforementioned (starter) Gerrit Cole.

What about those faces from 2023 who are still on the roster in 2024?

Clay Holmes is being touted as one of the best, if not the best, closers in baseball. In March, he had a tendency to allow inherited runners to score, but he soon tightened up on that, and across the month and a little more, he didn’t concede any earned runs. He gave up 12 hits and 1 walk. In April, he struck out 13. I’m very much of the opinion that Holmes is a confidence pitcher and he is capable of keeping this up until he hits a bump in the road.

Like Holmes, Jonathan Loaisiga took a little while to settle into his groove. He gave up 7 hits and a walk in 3 hits in March, but somehow avoided giving up even a single run. In his first appearance in April, he looked much sharper. But then the Yankees had to shut him down. He was placed on the 60-day injured list on the 5th of April with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament which require surgery and keep him out until next year.

Ian Hamilton was an unlikely success in 2023, and so far it continues into the new season. If anything he looks stronger. So far, he has appeared in 10 games, and he has conceded 5 runs in 15.1 innings.

Luke Weaver who joined the roster in the middle of September continues to be a useful addition in the 12 games he has played. In 2023, he was exclusively used as a starter. In 2024, he has been used as a reliever. His debut in March saw him pitch 1.1 innings for 0 hits and 0.00 ERA, and a 0.00 WHIP. In April, he pitched 18.1 innings for 11 hits and 4 walks in 10 games, taking 2 wins.

Ron Marinaccio had a disastrous conclusion to the 2023 season, and then was equally poor in Spring Training. However, he rediscovered his way at Scranton when their season started, and was recalled to the Stadium on the 13th of April. In 6 games, he pitched 7.2 innings with 3 hits conceded allowing 2 runs. His WHIP of 0.78 led the relief corps amongst the regular faces.

And the new guys?

Well. it was a deep dive into unkwown with very few household names amongst those added…

Dennis Santana had been claimed off waivers (from the Minnesota Twins) by the New York Mets. However, he only appeared 9 games (1-0, 5.91 ERA) before being granted free agency in August. In December he signed for the New York Yankees, and after being assigned to Scranton out of Spring Training, he was recalled to New York when Jonathan Loaisige hit the injured list. Since then he has appeared in 11 games. He has picked up 1 win and a 3.95 ERA.

Nick Burdi is another who has moved around over the last few years. After injury, he had signed with the San Diego, and was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs in early December 2022. In 3 games for the Cubs, he ran up a 9.00 ERA before once more being placed on waivers. Claimed by the Yankees, he surprised most people by making the roster and starting well through 7 relief appearances, netting 1 win and 2 holds with a very nice 0.00 ERA. However, as these things sometimes go, by the middle of April he was on the injured list from the 19th, retroactive to the 17th, which kept him out until the end of the month.

If Burdi, and to a lesser extent Santana, were nice suprises, Caleb Ferguson was a major disappointment. The still young, Ohio-born, left-hander, had been brought in from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trade for a couple of minor leaguers – Matt Gage, and Christian Zazueta. He had played in 68 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023. being used as a reliever and occasional starter. During that season, he went 7-4 with a 3.43 ERA. During 13 games up to the end of April, he has 0 wins, 3 losses, 4 holds, and a save. His ERA is 4.50. It is okay, but the Yankees must have been expecting more.

Mexican, Victor Gonzalez was another reliever who has come in from the Dodgers. Gonzalez, like Ferguson, is a left-hander. After 7 years working his way through the Dodgers’ farm system, he had arrived in the majors in 2020. The trade took minor leaguer, Trey Sweeney to Los Angeles whilst Jorbit Vivas also came to New York. Gonzalez has improved on the record he had for the Los Angeles team in 2023. To the end of April, he has appeared in 12 games. He has 1 win and 1 loss, 2 saves, 1 hold, and a 2.61 ERA. All of which makes him the Yankees best left-handed reliever so far.

Michael Tonkin has bounced around more than anybody in 2024. He started at the New York Mets, and was then claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Twins where he had begun his career, but then in one of those strange moves that major league baseball sometimes throws up, he was claimed by the Mets a mere 8 days later. Another 8 days passed before the New York Yankees selected him off waivers. He has played in 5 games for the Mets, 1 one for the Twins, and now 2 games to the Yankees until the end of April. For the Yankees, he has pitched 2.2 innings, he has conceded no earned runs (2 unearned), and given up 4 hits. When he has been on this many teams, there is obviously something that coaching staff are seeing which is leaving them less than convinced. Those 4 hits in less than 3 innings might be a clue and very much style him as the 26th man on the roster.

Jake Cousins first made the major leagues with Milwaukee in 2021, and stayed with them until 2023. He signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox in the off-season, and was then traded to New York from the Charlotte Knights (AAA) having been assigned there just as the season had begun. He came to New York in exhange for our old friend “cash considerations”. He was brought to the Bronx on the 1st of April. Tanner Tully who hadn’t yet played for the New York team joined Scranton in place of Cousins. In the first week of April, he played in 2 games, showing he had possibilities to be used in long relief. He came away with a 3.00 ERA having thrown 72 pitches. He also achieved 1 win. On the 8th, he was optioned to Scranton and didn’t return in April.

Josh Maciejewski was briefly used by the Yankees in April. He took Cousins’ spot on the roster when he was optioned to Scranton. he pitched one inning on the very next day (3 outs, no hits, no runs, taking only 4 pitches). He couldn’t have done much more, but that didn’t stop him from being reassigned just a few days later, and found himself back at Scranton.

Clayton Beeter was another reliever who got off to a great, albeit brief, start playing on the 29th March in the Stadium in a big win against struggling rivals, Houston. If Maciejewski only took 4 pitches to complete his inning, Beeter improved on that taking only 3 pitches despite giving up a hit. Beeter who came to New York in exchange for Yankees’ renowned flop, Joey Gallo, didn’t even make it to the end of March before finding himself back in the minors.

Catcher, Jose Trevino made his pitching debut on April 27th rounded out the game in Milwaukee in a game where the Yankees were roundly thrashed 15-3. Trevino gave up 2 hits and conceded 2 runs.