SARASOTA — With spring training nearing its end and the Yankees coming closer to rotation decisions with each passing day, Will Warren logged his worst start of exhibition play on Thursday night.
The elements didn’t work in Warren’s favor, as a 50-minute rain delay preceded a windy night at Baltimore’s Ed Smith Stadium. Nonetheless, the rookie right-hander surrendered four earned runs on a first-inning solo shot from Ryan O’Hearn and a third-inning three-run blast by Adley Rutschman.
The ongoing gusts helped Rutschman’s dinger clear the left field fence, cementing a disappointing evening for Warren.
“I thought it was better than what the line is,” the pitcher said. “Filled it up. Everything was kind of working. I know I hung a curveball to O’Hearn. Adley got a heater hit in the wind, and it got out of here. It happens.”
Aaron Boone also mentioned how the wind wounded Warren, who also allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out three over 3.2 innings. He also got his pitch count up to 74 pitches.
“He got hit hard,” Boone acknowledged. “He gives up a three-run homer that’s not a three-run homer, really, but in and around that, they squared some balls against him. I also thought he pitched pretty well too. Executed some pitches, had a few punches there.”
Warren, 25, now has a 4.19 ERA this spring after taking a 2.87 mark into Thursday’s game, which the Yankees won, 9-7. He has spent the last few weeks competing against veteran non-roster invitee Carlos Carrasco for the open spot in the Yankees’ rotation, which was vacated by Gerrit Cole’s torn ulnar collateral ligament.
While neck and neck for a while, Carrasco now has much better numbers than Warren, as he owns a 1.69 ERA this spring. Carrasco also has a logistical edge, as he has the ability to opt out of his minor league contract on Saturday if he’s not added to the 40-man roster.
The Yankees, short on rotation depth, can’t afford to lose any more arms. Warren, meanwhile, can still be optioned to the minor leagues.
However, the possibility remains that both starters crack the Yankees’ season-opening rotation, as Clarke Schmidt’s status is still in the air after a recent case of shoulder fatigue.
Schmidt has only pitched in one spring game. On Thursday, he threw live batting practice at George M. Steinbrenner Field. He tallied 32 pitches while facing the likes of Austin Wells, Dominic Smith, Pablo Reyes, Ismael Munguia and Paul Goldschmidt.
Boone thought Schmidt looked sharp, but the manager still isn’t sure if the righty will start the season on the injured list, as he needs to recover without issue and build his pitch count up.
“We’re going to do what’s right for Clarke and us over the long haul,” Boone said, adding that he doesn’t know if Schmidt’s next step will be another live BP session or game action.
Should Schmidt start the season on the IL, there would be space for Warren and Carrasco. While that seems like an increasingly likely outcome, Warren is trying to maintain the one-day-at-a-time approach that he’s stuck to all spring.
“I’m in a good spot mentally,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t know anything until they tell me.”