Yankees' starting rotation needs to get started

 TORONTO — After a third straight rough start by Clarke Schmidt to open his season, Aaron Boone was asked about the righthander continuing to get chances in the rotation.

“I mean, he’s one of our starters right now,” Boone said on the night of April 18. “We’re a little banged up in the rotation right now. He’s gotta go out there and find a way and get to that next level right now. We don’t really have that luxury right now.”

The luxury Boone referenced was organizational starting pitching depth, and his answer, more or less, could be distilled this way: “At the moment, we really don’t have anyone else.”

Not much has changed nearly a month later. Though the bullpen has been among the best in the game, with Lus Severino, Carlos Rodon and Frankie Montas missing from what figured to be a standout group of starting pitchers, the Yankees’ rotation continues to flounder.

The group could get some help this week. The Yankees are leaving open the possibility of bringing back Severino, who started the season on the injured list with a right lat strain, in time for Sunday’s game in Cincinnati.

Severino is slated to make a second rehab start Tuesday with Double-A Somerset, which would line him up to pitch five days later against the Reds. But Severino threw only 49 pitches in his first rehab outing and figures to throw no more than 60 to 65 on Tuesday.

The Yankees could have Severino continue his build-up in the majors rather than get  stretched out in the minors. That is not preferred, but it also isn’t unprecedented. It  also is indicative of the state of the Yankees’ rotation; if it were doing better, they likely wouldn’t feel such a need to bring back Severino.

And even with Severino’s extensive injury history — there’s no telling exactly how the righthander, who has appeared in 26 games since 2019, will perform when he returns —  there is an urgent need for some quality starts.

Going into Monday night’s game against the Blue Jays — a game started by reliever Jimmy Cordero in an “opener” capacity, another indication of the Yankees’ starting pitching issues — the rotation ranked eighth in the American League with a 4.52 ERA.

Despite back-to-back subpar outings against the Rays, Gerrit Cole  certainly isn’t a problem. He is 5-0 with a 2.22 ERA in nine starts. But it’s been a freefall from there.

After a relatively strong start (3-0 with a 3.09 ERA in hs first four starts), Nestor Cortes has struggled in four starts since, going 0-2 with an 8.53 ERA.

Jhony Brito, slated to come in Monday night after Cordero, entered the game 2-3 with a 5.81 ERA. He was 0-3 with an 8.14 ERA in his last six outings.  

Schmidt, whose command issues have been his biggest obstacle to establishing himself in the big leagues, has shown flashes of what impressed the Yankees, as well as rival scouts, during spring training but ultimately hasn’t been able to put it together. He’s 1-4 with a 6.30 ERA.

“Results-wise, obviously it could be a little bit better,” Schmidt said Sunday after being charged with seven runs in 4 2/3 innings and allowing six hits and three walks. “But as far as being able to go out there and continuing to improve, show some good outings out there . . . I think it’s just continuing to refine the things we need to refine and work on. But overall, we’re not far off where we want to be.”

Aside from Cole, Domingo German has shown the most positive signs of the group. The righthander started dreadfully — 2-2 with a 5.54 ERA through five starts — but has a 1.89 ERA in his last three outings.

“We gotta get a little more out of the rotation as a whole, no question about it,” Boone said Sunday. “Nestor I do believe will be fine, I think this is a little bump in the road. I think he’ll make his adjustments and get back on track.”