{"id":75250,"date":"2025-08-09T08:09:44","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T08:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250"},"modified":"2025-08-09T08:09:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T08:09:44","slug":"yankees-biggest-problem-might-be-starting-pitching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250","title":{"rendered":"Yankees\u2019 Biggest Problem Might Be Starting Pitching"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Heavy-Thumbnail_20250808_205820_0000.png?w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Heavy-Thumbnail_20250808_205820_0000.png?w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Heavy-Thumbnail_20250808_205820_0000.png?w=1100&amp;quality=15&amp;strip=all 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Heavy-Thumbnail_20250808_205820_0000.png?w=1350&amp;quality=35&amp;strip=all 1350w\" alt=\"Yankees\u2019 Biggest Problem Might Be Starting Pitching\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For months, the New York Yankees\u2019 bullpen has worn the blame for their summer collapse. But here\u2019s the truth: the bullpen isn\u2019t the root problem\u2014Greg Joyce of the New York Post, says it\u2019s the starting rotation. New York\u2019s starters have quietly been one of MLB\u2019s least effective units since late June, and it\u2019s forcing Aaron Boone to manage every game like it\u2019s October just to survive nine innings.<\/p>\n<p>The numbers tell the story. Since June 29, Yankees starters have completed six innings in just five of 33 games. Max Fried, Carlos Rod\u00f3n, Will Warren, and the since-released Marcus Stroman account for those rare deep outings. More often, Boone is reaching for the bullpen by the fifth inning\u2014a pattern that\u2019s become the rule, not the exception. In that same stretch, New York\u2019s rotation has posted a 5.20 ERA, the fifth-worst in the majors.<\/p>\n<p>That workload is crushing the relief corps. The bullpen has thrown 127 innings over the same span, sixth-most in MLB, with a 6.02 ERA\u2014the second-worst mark in baseball. When your best arms are being burned three or four nights a week, eventually they\u2019re either unavailable or ineffective.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>The Domino Effect Is Killing the Yankees\u2019 Late Innings<\/h2>\n<p>Boone has made it clear: \u201cThe pitchers all protect each other\u2026 That starts with starting pitching.\u201d But when starters exit before the sixth inning, there\u2019s no protection. Every game turns into a high-leverage scramble.<\/p>\n<p>The recent Rangers series was a perfect example of how short starts drain the roster. On Monday, Fried needed 105 pitches to get through five innings, leaving a 5-4 lead to the bullpen. Boone had to roll out Luke Weaver, Camilo Doval, David Bednar, and Devin Williams, with Williams blowing the ninth.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Warren lasted five innings on 98 pitches. That again brought Doval and Weaver into the middle innings before Williams surrendered the go-ahead runs in the eighth. A single extra inning from Warren could have kept Williams out of the game entirely.<\/p>\n<p>By Wednesday, Rod\u00f3n\u2019s 93-pitch leadoff walk in the sixth ended his day. Boone had to bridge the final four innings with Mark Leiter Jr., Tim Hill, Yerry De Los Santos, and a five-out save from Bednar\u2014because Weaver and Williams were gassed and Doval was on emergency-only status. That\u2019s how lower-leverage arms wind up in spots they can\u2019t handle.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Fried and Rod\u00f3n Must Be the Solution\u2014Not Part of the Problem<\/h2>\n<p>The Yankees didn\u2019t build this rotation expecting Fried and Rod\u00f3n to be five-inning pitchers. Both dominated in the first half\u2014Fried posted a 1.92 ERA through 17 starts, and Rod\u00f3n a 2.92 through 18\u2014but they\u2019ve both regressed. Fried has posted a 5.81 ERA in his past six starts, while Rod\u00f3n has a 4.50 ERA in his past seven.<\/p>\n<p>The issue isn\u2019t just hits\u2014it\u2019s walks. Free passes are running up pitch counts and pushing both starters out of games before they can face a lineup three times. Fried admitted it himself: \u201cI have to do a better job of being more aggressive and not falling behind so much\u2026 Whether it\u2019s four-pitch walks or uncompetitive walks, I just need to do a better job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a glaring problem for a team that needs length from its rotation now more than ever. The Yankees designed their bullpen overhaul at the deadline to be a luxury, not a life raft. But unless Fried and Rod\u00f3n start pitching deeper into games, Boone will keep leaning on his top relievers until they break.<\/p>\n<p>The Yankees can still right the ship and secure a playoff spot, but the formula isn\u2019t complicated. It\u2019s not about adding more bullpen arms or shuffling the lineup\u2014it\u2019s about getting the rotation back to workhorse mode. Without that, the bullpen will continue to drown, and so will the Yankees\u2019 season.<\/p>\n<p>Alvin Garcia Born in Puerto Rico, Alvin Garcia is a sports writer for Heavy.com who focuses on MLB. His work has appeared on FanSided, LWOS, NewsBreak, Athlon Sports, and Yardbarker, covering mostly MLB. More about Alvin Garcia<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Yankees<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yankees\u2019 rotation has been a liability since late June, overworking the bullpen and threatening their playoff hopes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":75252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Yankees\u2019 Biggest Problem Might Be Starting Pitching - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yankees\u2019 Biggest Problem Might Be Starting Pitching - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yankees\u2019 rotation has been a liability since late June, overworking the bullpen and threatening their playoff hopes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-09T08:09:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/avtvip-3-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250\",\"name\":\"Yankees\u2019 Biggest Problem Might Be Starting Pitching - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/avtvip-3-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-09T08:09:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-09T08:09:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/avtvip-3-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/avtvip-3-2.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Yankees\u2019 Biggest Problem Might Be Starting Pitching\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec\",\"name\":\"MrThanh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrThanh\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Yankees\u2019 Biggest Problem Might Be Starting Pitching - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Yankees\u2019 Biggest Problem Might Be Starting Pitching - NEWS USA","og_description":"Yankees\u2019 rotation has been a liability since late June, overworking the bullpen and threatening their playoff hopes.","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2025-08-09T08:09:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/avtvip-3-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MrThanh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrThanh","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250","name":"Yankees\u2019 Biggest Problem Might Be Starting Pitching - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/avtvip-3-2.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-09T08:09:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-09T08:09:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/avtvip-3-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/avtvip-3-2.jpg","width":900,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=75250#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Yankees\u2019 Biggest Problem Might Be Starting Pitching"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec","name":"MrThanh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrThanh"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=75250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75253,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75250\/revisions\/75253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=75250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=75250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=75250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}