After being scratched from his start and making a weird relief appearance, Domingo German is done for the season. New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman has announced that German will be entering an inpatient rehabilitation center for alcohol abuse. Given this isn’t the first off-field incident involving German, he’s most likely thrown his last pitch as a Yankee. This means that the Yankees must address the backend of their rotation in the offseason. However, the Yankees do have some options on how they can address their open spot in the rotation.
Option One: Staying In House With Clarke Schmidt
Embed from Getty ImagesOne option for the Yankees to go to is Clarke Schmidt. Schmidt is a homegrown Yankee and was drafted by the team in 2017 in the first round. He’s been up with the big club since 2020 and has made various appearances as both a starter and reliever. He’s also cheap as he still has three years of team control remaining on his contract before he’s eligible for free agency. However, Schmidt has had an up-and-down career with the big club.
Consistency Struggles
Embed from Getty ImagesThis season, Clarke Schmidt has been able to get an extended look as a starter due to injuries in the starting rotation. While he certainly is someone the Yankees can slot into the rotation, Schmidt shouldn’t be the preferred starter. It has been an uneven year for him in 2023. Schmidt has certainly had his struggles with consistency this season.
In 22 starts this season, Schmidt is 7-6 with an ERA of 4.39, 99 strikeouts to just 29 walks, a WHIP of 1.318, and a FIP of 4.40. The big area where Schmidt has struggled is keeping the ball in the yard. Schmidt has given up 16 home runs this season. Clarke Schmidt has displayed he can never pitch deep into games. This season in all 22 of his starts, Schmidt has only made it past the fifth inning three times.
Struggles To Get Lefties Out
Embed from Getty ImagesOne big thing that Schmidt has struggled to do in his career is consistently getting left-handed hitters out. In his career, hitters have mashed on him to a slash line of .306/.329/.529. However, after tinkering with his mechanics, Schmidt has improved against lefties a little bit. This season lefties are slashing .290/.368/.510 with an OPS of .878. While it is an improvement, this really isn’t starter quality.
Proven To Be Better Out Of The Bullpen
Embed from Getty ImagesSchmidt himself has said he prefers to be a starting pitcher. After all, he was drafted by the Yankees as a starter out of the University of South Carolina. However, Schmidt has been much better as a reliever. Opponents have only hit .217 with an OPS .673 whenever Schmidt has pitched out of the bullpen.
Overall, due to his struggles with consistency, and given that he’s had an extended look as a starter, Schmidt shouldn’t be the Yankees first choice. A starting pitcher who struggles to get left-handed hitters out is not going to make it in the big leagues. Schmidt is only good for certain situations not trying to get through the lineup three times.
Option Two: Promoting Jhony Brito Or Randy Vasquez
Embed from Getty ImagesJhony Brito is another homegrown pitcher the Yankees got an extended look at due to injuries. Ironically, he was the pitcher that started the game before German made his strange relief appearance. However, after getting off to a meteoric start, Brito has experienced a lot of rookie struggles. In 12 starts this season, Brito is 4-5 with an ERA of 5.17, 39 strikeouts to 21 walks, and a FIP of 5.91. He’s also been a launching pad for home run hitters as Brito has allowed 12-round trippers this season.
However, we shouldn’t give up on Brito as the Yankees were forced to call him up because of all the injuries. After all, Brito was also struggling at the Triple-A level as well before being called to start his first MLB game. However, he is the Yankees 15th-best prospect according to Fangraphs.com and has flashed his potential at times this year. I personally think that Brito isn’t ready to have a spot in the rotation. Judging by how he’s done this season, Brito needs a lot more time to develop in the minor leagues.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnother promising homegrown pitcher the Yankees got a short look at was Randy Vasquez. Although he only made three starts for New York this season, they were very memorable and promising. In three starts with the big club, Vasquez was 1-1 with an ERA of 1.17, ten strikeouts to seven walks, and a WHIP of 1.043. On paper those stats look pretty, however, he did have a lot of luck. Vasquez posted a concerning FIP of 4.77 during his three-game audition in the Bronx.
Clayton Beeter And Luis Gil
Embed from Getty ImagesAside from Brito and Vasquez, the Yankees do have other promising minor league pitchers they can promote to the big club. Top prospects Clayton Beeter and Luis Gil are all guys who are projected to be ready to come up to the Bronx. Beeter pitched in this years future’s game in Seattle. Gil has even already seen time with the big league before being hampered by injuries.
Option Three: Free Agency
This offseason the free agent class for starting pitchers isn’t very strong. Aside from pitchers like Marcus Stroman, Julio Urias, Shohei Ohtani, and Eduardo Rodriguez, this isn’t a sweepstake class. Fortunately, the Yankees aren’t in the market for pitchers who can anchor the top of the rotation. However, this year’s class is featuring pitchers who are capable of being back of the rotation guys.
The Yankees are expected to shed over $41,250,000 million in player contracts. It could possibly be more if they let Harrison Bader, Wandy Peralta, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa leave in free agency. The Yankees have more than enough money to acquire a capable backend starter. Players like Alex Wood, Michael Wacha, and Michael Lorenzen would be prime candidates to fill that rotation role. Cashman has typically gone the free-agent route when it comes to filling out their rotation, now wouldn’t be any different.
The Yankees Have Options
The Yankees have many different directions that they can go to find a new fifth starter. Whether it be in-house or free agency, the Yankees need a pitcher who doesn’t create distractions as German has done. A rotation that can stay healthy, take pressure off Gerrit Cole will be one of the keys to being successful going forward.
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