Yankees rotation analysis: Gerrit Cole signing mitigates loss of Luis Severino

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole pitching on the mound with manager Aaron Boone, right, looking on during spring training in Tampa on Feb. 16, 2020. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
During this pandemic-induced baseball hiatus, we examine the Yankees as an organization, position by position. Today, the starting rotation.
The starters: Even with Luis Severino lost for the season because of Tommy John surgery and James Paxton still recovering from the back procedure he underwent in February (he has begun a throwing program and potentially could be back if the season starts in early July), the Yankees' rotation was shaping up as one of the best in the American League. The reason, of course, is Gerrit Cole, the jewel of last offseason's free-agent class, whom the Yankees signed to a record nine-year, $324 million contract.
Among those behind Cole is Masahiro Tanaka, a solid and at times spectacular Yankee, especially when it comes to October. Tanaka, in the final year of his seven-year, $155 million deal, is 75-43 in six seasons and 5-3 with a 1.76 ERA in the postseason.
The expectation is for lefthander J.A. Happ to have a bounce-back year after going 12-8 with a 4.91 ERA and allowing a career-high 34 homers in 2019. Happ, a fairly consistent performer in his career, is 121-90 with a 3.99 ERA in 13 seasons.
Based on the small sample size provided in spring training, lefthander Jordan Montgomery has fully healed from Tommy John surgery in 2018. Montgomery, 27, who was sixth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 after going 9-7 with a 3.88 ERA, was off to a good start in 2018 when his elbow gave out in the first inning of a May 1 start in Houston.
The Yankees were evaluating their options behind those four when spring training was shut down. The favorite probably was Jonathan Loaisiga, a hard-throwing 25-year-old whose filthy stuff in the minors has wowed rival scouts but hasn’t consistently translated to the majors. Touted prospects Clarke Schmidt, Mike King and Deivi Garcia had moments when they impressed in spring training, though the latter was always considered a long shot at best to grab a roster spot out of camp.
Another option could be the “opener” route, something the club had success with in 2019.

Domingo German must serve the final 63 games of the 81-game suspension he received late last season for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy (if the 2020 season is completely wiped out, the suspension will not carry over into 2021).
The other options: If there are injuries — and when it comes to pitchers, there always are —— the Yankees have moderate, though not great, depth to choose from. If Loaisiga doesn’t start the year in the rotation, he likely would be called on, as could the seed-throwing Luis Cessa, a righthander with some ability who has been erratic when asked to start previously. Cessa, 28, was slated to begin the season in the bullpen in a swingman role. Nick Tropeano, a non-roster invitee from West Islip and Stony Brook University with an injury history but big-league experience as a starter, had an outside shot of making the club when spring training was shut down.
The future: If you want to get opposing team talent evaluators to speak in superlatives, ask them about the collection of arms the Yankees have throughout their system. There’s Garcia (21 years old), Schmidt (24) and King (24), who is considered the closest to being ready to step into the big leagues (King was a September call-up in 2019 and appeared in one game). And there is much, much more, namely Luis Gil, a 21-year-old righthander who finished last season with high Class A Tampa; Miguel Yajure, a 22-year-old righthander who finished 2019 with Double-A Trenton; Yoendrys Gomez, a 20-year-old righthander who finished the season with Class A Charleston; Nick Nelson, a 24-year-old righthander who finished with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and Roansy Contreras, a 20-year-old righthander who ended last season with Charleston.