It’s no secret that the Yankees are on the verge of a roster crunch when it comes to their starting pitching.
Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole are both expected to rejoin the team before the end of June, and that means two spots in the rotation are needed to facilitate their returns. Rodon will likely take the spot of rookie Elmer Rodriguez, who was just called up this week, but whose spot will Cole take?
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Will Warren is an option, but if he continues to pitch the way he did in Friday’s 7-2 win over the Orioles, the Yankees may have to look elsewhere.
Warren struck out nine batters, allowing two runs (one earned) across 6.1 innings on just three hits and one walk. He’s now 4-0 with a 2.39 ERA and 46 strikeouts in seven starts this season. Warren has allowed two or fewer earned runs in each of his seven starts, the most in the majors.
“We say he’s the guy we haven’t talked about, and it’s just been the body of the work, starting from spring training, has been excellent over and over again,” Aaron Boone said of Warren after Friday’s win. “Stuff’s been excellent, the strike-throwing is there, he was just in command… Just another really strong performance.”
Warren had few words when talking about his recent success, almost bashfully when speaking about it, but boiled it down to confidence.
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“Feel good. Confident taking the mound every five days,” Warren said.
But it’s a bit more than that. Boone pinpoints the experience Warren has gained after pitching most of the 2025 season. Warren made 33 starts and pitched to a 9-8 record and a 4.44 ERA, and while it wasn’t great, the trial-by-fire the young right-hander had to endure is seemingly paying off in the early going this season.
Two examples of that learned experience appeared in Friday’s game.
Pregame, Warren and Austin Wells figured out that the changeup against lefties will work. Warren threw that pitch 12 times on Friday, 11 to left-handers, and got three whiffs. Of the three hits allowed, only one came off a left-handed bat.
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The second was adjusting mid-game. Warren recognized early that he wasn’t executing with his four-seamer and so he went more to the offspeed stuff and it worked. Warren throws his fastball 43 percent of the time, which went down to 32 percent on Friday.
“The ability to execute what I wanted to do wasn’t there tonight, so we kinda shifted,” Warren said. “More offspeed than I’m used to. Just being able to shift and still have confidence throwing out there and getting the results was nice, too.”
That perception and confidence is serving Warren well
“We’re just talking about a young, talented guy that’s shown really good aptitude over the years, and I think a love for the craft and an expectation to be really good,” Boone said of Warren’s improvement. “He’s not satisfied. For all the good he did last year, he’s not satisfied.
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“He’s continued to lean into his strengths while also attacking some of his weaknesses…really understanding more this year and doesn’t have to nibble as much. He trusts his stuff in the zone. He knows he can beat you in a lot of different ways.”
“Another year under my belt. You learn a lot out there,” Warren said of his improvements. “Talk about it in here all you want, but it’s about getting your feet wet and learning as the game goes long. Have a solid staff to ask questions and learn from. It’s a mix of that.”
Yankees starters have posted a major league-best 2.70 ERA and 184 strikeouts in 32 starts this season, and Warren has contributed greatly to that. He’s pitched at least 6.0 innings in his last three starts, and the Yankees are 6-1 in Warren’s starts this year.
So, what will happen when reinforcements do come?
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Warren said there’s “friendly competition” among the Yankees starters. While they all want each other to succeed and feed off each other, they have fun trying to outdo the last starter. But Warren knows it’s out of his control and all he can do is keep doing what he’s doing.
“We’re going to have the best staff in all of baseball when [Rodon/Cole] come back,” Warren said. “Best pitchers are going to pitch the majority of innings. I gotta make sure I keep going out there and doing my job.”
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