Ryan Weathers was knocked around in today’s Grapefruit League loss. The new Yankees southpaw allowed seven runs on eight hits in three innings. He’s up to 16 earned runs over 12 1/3 frames across four starts this spring.
The struggles haven’t jeopardized Weathers’ hold on a rotation spot. Manager Aaron Boone confirmed the lefty will open the season in the starting five (relayed by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Boone noted that he’s more focused on the pitcher’s raw stuff than results in exhibition play.
Despite being hit around, Weathers has shown a promising arsenal. His fastball is up above 98 mph on average, a tick higher than his 97 mph heater during last year’s regular season with Miami. Weathers has picked up 17 strikeouts while missing bats on more than 14% of his offerings. It’s certainly an ugly ERA, but the velocity and whiffs are encouraging.
Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Luis Gil and Weathers will comprise the season-opening rotation. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón are each opening on the injured list. Cole threw an inning in his first Spring Training appearance on Wednesday. Rodón hasn’t pitched this spring but could be ready for regular season action by the end of April.
Weathers and Gil each have a minor league option remaining. They’ll have a few starts to try to ensure they stick in the rotation once Rodón and/or Cole are healthy. It’d be crowded if everyone is available, but the Yankees don’t have much experienced depth in the short term. Osvaldo Bido is out of options and could find himself back on waivers next week. Swingmen Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn and prospect Elmer Rodríguez (who has yet to pitch in the big leagues) are the other healthy rotation options on the 40-man roster.
Among the team’s non-roster invitees, no one turned more heads this spring than righty Carlos Lagrange. The 22-year-old fireballer reeled off 13 2/3 innings of one-run ball while recording 13 strikeouts. He was routinely pumping triple digit fastballs with wipeout secondary stuff. There was some thought that Lagrange might even be pitching his way into the Opening Day conversation, but the Yankees reassigned him to minor league camp this afternoon.
Boone acknowledged that Lagrange looked much nearer to MLB readiness than he’d anticipated coming into the spring. “I don’t know if we were ever going to break [camp] with him, but I would say we’ve at least talked about it,” he told Greg Joyce of The New York Post. “What he’s done the last six weeks definitely made us think maybe he’s closer than we think.”
Lagrange’s arsenal would probably play in the big league bullpen already. It’s potential top-of-the-rotation stuff, so the Yankees will continue developing him as a starter in the minors to work on his command. Lagrange was around the zone this spring, only issuing four walks with one hit batter. That’s obviously a small body of work. His strike-throwing has been the big question in the minors. Lagrange walked more than 12% of opponents in his 120 innings between High-A and Double-A last year. He’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft next offseason, and it seems likely he’ll debut at some point this year.
