The New York Yankees are running away with the AL East. They have the best record in the American League. They are fighting with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in baseball.
But in spite of all of that, they have one glaring flaw: starting pitching.
The Yankees' starting rotation consists of James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, J.A. Happ and Domingo German. Not one of them has an era under 4, with four of the five laying claim to ERAs above 4.70.
Yes, New York is without its ace in Luis Severino, who has been sidelined all year with a shoulder issue and might be back in September. But even Severino had an incredibly rough second half last season, and his playoff track record leaves much to be desired.
The Yanks don't even know for sure if Severino, who has suffered multiple setbacks, will be coming back at all this season.
Brian Cashman can play it as coy as he wants in the lead-up to the Wednesday trade deadline, but the fact of the matter is the Yankees need starting pitching, and they need it desperately.
New York shouldn't look any further than its lopsided four-game loss to the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS last October to understand how important starting pitching is in the playoffs, and nine months later, its rotation doesn't look much better.
As a matter of fact, a legitimate argument can be made that the Yankees' starting rotation is worse now than it was then.
The problem for New York is that is simply does not have an ace, and an even bigger issue is that no one in its rotation has even pitched like a No. 2 this season.
Cashman has long been known for being hesitant to pull the trigger on blockbuster trades for pitchers, his one blemish on what is an otherwise stellar resume that would make every general manager around the league jealous.
But it's time for Cashman to bite the bullet and make a move.
He already saw one starter fly off the market on Sunday, as the New York Mets swung a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays for Marcus Stroman, and with Madison Bumgarner seeming poised to stay in San Francisco thanks to the Giants' recent surge, Cashman may have to get creative.
That has never been Cashman's problem. The whole reason why the Yankees are as good as they are is because of Cashman's ability to pull rabbits out of hats on the daily. What other franchise would have acquired guys like Luke Voit and Gio Urshela and turned them into capable — if not really good — everyday players?
It's whether or not Cashman is going to be willing to part with some of his prized prospects for a potential top-of-the-line starter, and that decision could make all the difference in whether or not the Yankees win the World Series or see another early playoff exit.
Make no mistake about it: this Yankees team is really good, but in order to ensure itself of a deep postseason run, it needs to do something about that starting rotation, which has been downright filthy in a bad way.
Follow Us
Subscribe