Marcus Stroman, who threw exclusively towards one half of the plate in Friday night’s dreary, sopping wet Yankees loss, lasted just 2/3 of an inning before he was mercifully relieved. Haters are already willing to go on record, calling Stroman’s start the weakest clapback of the modern era.

Stroman’s five earned runs allowed helped balloon the Yankees’ starters have the worst ERA in baseball at 5.46, and that includes Max Fried, who’s been historically sterling to start. We knew they would struggle after losing Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt. We hoped they could patch something together. They … cannot patch something together.

The cavalry is coming, but not quickly enough, and not all at once. Schmidt polished off another successful rehab start to end the week, racking up four Ks in four innings, allowing four hits, and reaching 61 pitches for Double-A Somerset. His trademark bender looked beyond ready. He’s a piece, if not the whole pie.

But which … of the three struggling starters at the back end of the Yankees’ rotation should they remove to make way for his return? Will Warren, who can be demoted to the minors? Carlos Carrasco, who’d be DFA’d and likely lost forever, costing the Yankees valuable depth?

After Friday, Stroman might actually be the correct answer. The narrative began to form after the soggy game was called that Stroman’s left knee was “bugging him”; he certainly didn’t look like a pitcher with a confident, repeatable landing spot, walking the world and missing consistently to one side of the plate.

Marcus Stroman was sent for testing on his left knee, which Aaron Boone said was “bugging him.” X-rays were taken at Yankee Stadium.

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) April 12, 2025

Yankees starter Marcus Stroman sent for left knee x-rays as Clarke Schmidt prepares to return

Pending the result of Stroman’s X-Rays, the Yankees might’ve had their decision made for them. At the very least, they have an agreed-upon excuse to hide Stroman for a bit while they continue to gather data on Warren and Carrasco.

Gil’s throwing program began last week, but he’s still a full spring training plus from being able to contribute. The Yankees don’t have more than one simple swap on the horizon for a rotation that’s ailing.

Outside of signing Spencer Turnbull, though, there aren’t many solutions worth entertaining, for the time being. Therefore, keeping Carrasco in place is a wise idea. Demoting Warren felt like the simplest, cleanest solution … until Friday night, when a new door opened and likely closed the book.