The Yankees have reached a strange but useful point in their season: they finally have more starting options than starting jobs.
That shift is what makes this week in San Diego so interesting. After spending most of the summer just trying to keep enough healthy arms available, New York is now in position to do something more deliberate with its pitching staff. The first clue came from Aaron Boone, who said the club plans to start Max Fried on Friday against the Padres and likely follow him with Will Warren.
“We’ll have Max go Friday, [and] we’ll probably have Will go behind him,” Boone said.
It sounds like the Yankees are setting up a piggyback arrangement rather than a standard starter-to-bullpen day. And that is a pretty clear sign that September is going to be used as a testing ground, not just a calendar to fill.
Fried is coming back carefully after his second injured-list stint, this one tied to a bone bruise in his left elbow. He threw 63 pitches over 3 2/3 innings in his return Saturday against Boston. Warren, meanwhile, turned around and shoved the next day, firing seven innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts in a 16-1 win over the Red Sox.
The contrast is exactly why this setup makes sense. Fried has been limited and managed all year, while Warren is coming off one of his best outings of the season. Boone now has room to use both without treating every start like a fixed appointment.
That flexibility matters even more with the Yankees heading into a stretch that includes two off days this week and another off day before the Sept. 8 home series against Colorado. Later in the month, the Sept. 22 doubleheader against Tampa Bay adds another layer of scheduling pressure. In other words, this is not the time for rigid thinking.
Tuesday’s 7-3 win over the Angels showed the same theme in a different form. Gerrit Cole handled 5 1/3 innings, then Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn and John Schreiber finished off the final 3 2/3. The Yankees improved to 79-60, sitting 4.5 games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East and four games ahead of Boston for the top American League wild-card spot.
The depth chart itself is starting to shape the strategy. Fried is 4-4 with a 2.80 ERA in 16 starts and 90 innings, while Warren is 9-6 with a 4.23 ERA across 134 innings, along with 133 strikeouts and 46 walks. Those numbers help explain why Warren is a natural candidate to be used in a different way for now, even if Boone does not view it as a permanent bullpen move.
Warren has started 26 of his 27 appearances, but the Yankees also have other postseason-caliber arms in the mix. Cole, Fried, Carlos Rodon and Cam Schlittler give Boone different options for October, and Elmer Rodríguez remains part of the picture as well.
Rodríguez has had an uneven start, but the Yankees have kept him on the roster, and that alone tells you they still see a role for him. He has thrown 23 major league innings and owns a 4.70 ERA after allowing four runs in 3 2/3 innings during Monday’s 10-1 loss to the Angels.
Boone hinted that this may not be a one-time adjustment.
“We’ll probably have some piggyback scenarios coming up,” Boone said.
That is the real story here. The Yankees are no longer just trying to patch together a rotation. They have enough arms to start thinking about how innings should be distributed, which pitchers can handle multi-inning work, and who might fit best in a shorter postseason format.
Friday’s game against San Diego is the first real test. Fried has to keep building back.
Warren has to prove the Boston outing was a step forward and not a one-night spike. Rodríguez has to keep showing he can supply useful innings when called on.
The Yankees have spent most of the year trying to survive the pitching attrition game. Now they have a chance to use September to make their staff more flexible. Boone’s first move suggests he’s ready to do exactly that.
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