The Yankees put together a rotation. Or a puzzle.
They now have the kind of starting lineup that wins in the post-season. Or the kind of physical history that could undermine it.
Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon and Luis Severino can be one of the best no. Be 2-4 starting groups in the majors. 1 August. Or the Yanks can start hunters by the July 31 deadline, as Kluber’s 2020 begins plus those of Taillon and those of Severino come at one – for one total innings.
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you can see the high ceiling built by the Yankees – or just all the flaws.
In 2018, Kluber, Taillon and Severino jointly started 53-26 with an ERA of 3.15 in 97. Kluber has since started scoring eight, just one innings last year. Taillon made seven, and not last year. Severino scored five (two in the playoffs), not one last year.
The Yankee’s tendency to double the starter’s talent rather than a safe turn and health repeated on Sunday as they completed a four-prospect deal with the Pirates for Taillon, who missed last season following an operation by Tommy John.
In isolation, the Yankees made the kind of trade a candidate with a deep farming system could do with a rebuilding club. It looks like the Padres did earlier this month, also with Pittsburgh, to acquire another starter, Joe Musgrove, which trades a good amount, but not an overwhelming quality. There’s a Yankee risk in the prospectus, especially that some teams really like Miguel Yajure, because he showed pitch at such a young age (22) and Roasny Castillo is the kind of big-arm lottery ticket he finds his way. in this type. of transactions.
The Yanks have been trying for months to acquire Musgrove and Taillon as a package. But Pittsburgh believed it could fare better. So the Yanks just landed the starter that cost less ($ 2.25 million this year) and offers more capability. Taillon, when he was last healthy a full season, showed the promise that made him the second choice of the 2010 draft between Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. He was 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA over 32 in 2018.
But this is not a trade done in isolation. This is done with the knowledge that Taillon is returning to the Tommy John surgery, as is Severino, and Jordan Montgomery has started 11 major leagues since his Tommy John surgery in June 2018. Kluber was back from tearing a shoulder muscle last year . Domingo German made his last major league appearance on September 18, 2019 before being suspended under MLB’s domestic abuse protocols. Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt have 40 ² / ₃ innings in the league together.
It’s a strong stock talent. But under the best of circumstances, it’s hard to figure out how to reach 1450-ish league innings in a 162-game season without sacrificing the ability or burning a bull. Do it now a year after a pandemic season of 60 games when no pitcher came close to their normal workload and there was no minor league season. Do it now with this group of Yankee entrees with Michael King thrown in for further depth. The line will be good between awesome and scary.
The Yankees will only get Severino back in a few months of the season and have no good feelings about bulk innings from anyone other than Gerrit Cole. It will take massage to find respite with six-man rotations and twists to prevent the non-Coles from expanding – the puzzle.
In 2019, the Yankees won 103 games with only one starter (Masahiro Tanaka) qualifying for the ERA title on 182 overs. JA Happ had 161 ¹ / ₃, James Paxton 150 ² / ₃, German 143 and CC Sabathia 107 ¹ / had. This can therefore be done, especially since the Yanks project has to get a strong offense again and can fall again. On top of that, they have not yet touched the best of their prospect base. If there is suddenly a Kyle Hendricks or a German Marquez or Luis Castillo available during the season, they are in the position again. And who even knows with the COVID-19 pandemic whether there will be a season with 162 games this year. The fewer games probably the better it is to maximize this Yankee rotation.
Maybe the Yanks will continue with the group. But it’s not easy. The $ 2.25 million salary in 2021 has made Taillon even more attractive as the Yanks head toward the $ 210 million luxury tax threshold, which is their budget for the 2021 season.
The rotation pieces you see now are therefore possibly what you get to open the season. With Taillon, the group became more talented and tougher.