The Bombers’ Best-Kept Secret: Yankees’ Starting Rotation Poised for Greatness
Losing Juan Soto was a significant blow for the Yankees this offseason, but they immediately countered it by strengthening their starting rotation. If you can’t maintain a superstar offensive weapon, you better be able to stop it, and that is precisely the approach the Yankees took.
Gerrit Cole Leads the Yankees’ Rotation
Heading into the 2025 season, the Bombers sport one of the best starting rotations in the game, headlined by Gerrit Cole, who is coming off a bit of a down season but still dominated during the playoffs, posting a 2.17 ERA over 29 innings.
Cole tossed only 95 innings during the regular season, recording a 3.41 ERA and seeing his strikeouts dip slightly. This marks the first season in quite some time that Cole dealt with injury issues, but the expectation is that he will bounce back and put together a strong upcoming year despite his velocity dipping a bit.
If Cole can recover his lost velocity and maintain his health, he should reestablish himself as the Yankees’ workhorse. However, they have a new arm ready to make a significant impact.
Max Fried Joins the Fold
General manager Brian Cashman signed Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million deal. The 30-year-old lefty posted a 3.25 ERA over 174.1 innings this past season. He struck out 8.57 batters per nine, maintained a 72.5% left-on-base rate, and generated a 58.8% ground ball rate. Fried accumulated 3.4 WAR, situating himself as one of the Yankees’ most exciting additions for next year.
Fried’s playoff experience—67 innings pitched—further enhances his value to the Yankees, who prize players capable of performing in high-stakes situations. With Carlos Rodon’s contract aging poorly, the team needed another star lefty pitcher, which also allowed them to trade Nestor Cortes in the deal that brought superstar closer Devin Williams to the Bronx.
