Modern pitching staffs don’t rely on just five starters to get through a season anymore. For the Yankees, it’s essentially a sure thing CC Sabathia will need a 10-day DL stint to rest his balky knee. James Paxton doesn’t exactly have an injury-free history, and there’s the ever-looming threat of Masahiro Tanaka’s elbow giving away. But even without injuries or a Sonny Gray-like implosion, teams are going to need the occasional spot starter. The season is just too long, and hitters are just too good. In 2018, eleven different Yankees started a game on the mound, twelve if you count the bullpen game against the Rays on September 24th.
Surveying the Yankees’ starting pitching depth in 2019
