Yankees pulse check: Will Warren or Ryan Weathers?

TL;DR

The Yankees are evaluating whether Will Warren or Ryan Weathers will fill the rotation spot when Gerrit Cole returns from injury. Both pitchers have shown potential, with recent strong performances against the Royals.

Key points

Yankees have strong starting pitching with Fried and Schlittler.
Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón are rehabbing injuries.
Warren and Weathers are competing for a rotation spot.

New York YankeesKansas City Royals

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 18: Will Warren #29 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium on April 18, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Yankees are in a pretty fortunate position in terms of their starting pitching at the moment. Max Fried and Cam Schlittler have been superb leading the rotation, easing the pressure on the rehabbing Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón. Unless he can turn the clock back to the first half of 2024 in his next few starts, it seems straightforward that the already-skipped Luis Gil will be odd man out (assuming health) once Rodón is ready to return. But what about after that, when Cole is ready? On a rotation of this many veterans, they probably wouldn’t want to be a six-man rotation, so it becomes a discussion of Ryan Weathers vs. Will Warren. The first thing to acknowledge from the jump is that the Yankees will be truly fortunate if their overall rotation health is still *this* intact by then. Baseball has a funny little way of working these questions out in before they go beyond the world of the hypothetical. This is a “problem” that the Yankees would give anything to have in front of them. So we don’t need to do a full breakdown of the Weathers vs. Warren question and indeed, don’t expect to see one at PSA for at least a little bit; there will be even more data to include in the considerations by the time their hand is theoretically forced, too. Consider this more of a personal check-in on how *you’re* feeling about them. Both pitchers have hads ups and downs in the early offing, but both look to have sky-high potential at their best. They each just had great starts against Kansas City too, with Warren striking out 11 in a seven-inning, two-run effort on and Weathers throwing 7.1 scoreless with eight K’s . I think my gut leans Weathers, but it’s super close! What do you think? Again, I’m quite glad that they don’t have to make a decision just yet. Today on the site, Peter will run through some now-familiar early-2026 results in the Rivalry Roundup, Kento will make the case that the Yankees’ bullpen will probably be fine, and Sam will celebrate the 65th birthday of all-time, no-doubt Yankees legend: Donald Arthur Mattingly. Later, Madison will have the mailbag prompt.

Q&A

What are Will Warren's recent performance stats for the Yankees?

Will Warren struck out 11 batters in a seven-inning, two-run game against the Kansas City Royals.

How did Ryan Weathers perform in his last game for the Yankees?

Ryan Weathers pitched 7.1 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in his last game against the Kansas City Royals.

What is the current status of Gerrit Cole's injury and return?

Gerrit Cole is currently rehabbing and expected to return to the Yankees' rotation soon, prompting a decision between Warren and Weathers.

Yankees pulse check: Will Warren or Ryan Weathers?

TL;DR

Key points

Q&A

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Yankees pulse check: Will Warren or Ryan Weathers?

TL;DR

Key points

Q&A

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