The Yanks have various options to complete their rotation…if you move in enough different directions. Even if the Yankees rotation isn’t entirely complete yet, Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s absence leaves the starting five as the only viable choices. The best pitcher in the game is Gerrit Cole, and Carlos Rodón is as powerful a number two as it gets when healthy. As a result, in order to be thrilled with the Yankees rotation, you will need to get generous very quickly.

At his peak, Nestor Cortes ranks as high as number three as well, but with injuries, inconsistent play, and other variables preventing him and Rodón from reaching that position, the result is still far from certain. Last season, Clarke Schmidt’s ERA+ of 93 was below league average. Although he showed some promise in 2022, given the anticipated missed time from one of the two southpaws, he should ideally be someone to push his way into the rotation rather than a potential number three. Consuming large amounts of food will only go you so far.

This brings us to the crux of the matter. It’s acceptable to not start your rotation with an arm worthy of an All-Star. That’s actually the standard for the majority of competitors, but the Yankees are currently scrounging for players to fill their rotation and are woefully unprepared to deal with serious injuries. The first person who springs to mind as the favourite for the fifth-starter spot is Will Warren. He has fought hard to earn the opportunity, but he is by no means guaranteed to stay in the position. Not only is there no well-known prospect prepared to take that chance, but also no one with significant MLB experience.

Taking everything into account, even though there is a legitimate belief that Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s Yankees free agent plans were exceptional, more work needs to be done. The Yankees need to beef up, so there are a few choices to think about, even though they aren’t really desperate for pitching in the sense that they need aces.

The first option, which would be the most aggressive, would be for New York to pursue the product that is now closest to Yamamoto on the market. While there isn’t a pitcher quite like the Japanese one, there are still excellent choices available, such as Blake Snell, the current NL Cy Young winner.Jordan Montgomery doesn’t quite fit into that description, but since he is expected to sign a very lucrative multi-year contract following a spectacular run in Texas, we’ll nonetheless add him here with Snell.

The Yankees would need to make a long-term financial commitment to the two southpaws, who are essentially the only available possibilities (Shōta Imanaga is another, but he is likely more of an A2 option than an A1). There are compelling arguments to support the claim that this is not the best option. Along with carrying all of the same injury risks as Rodón, Snell has lost a considerable amount of time in two of the last three seasons. To put it mildly, he also has a hint of wildness. A lower-profile arm over Montgomery is easily justified when considering his entire career, including his stint with the Yankees, rather than simply the successful conclusion to his free agency career. Ownership is unlikely to be the highest bidder for one of these two if they were unwilling to match Yamamoto’s offer from the Dodgers.