TAMPA – The Yankees finally made it official: Will Warren has cracked their season-opening rotation.
Aaron Boone told the righty so on Sunday morning in the Yankees’ clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Warren then raced to tell his wife and parents.
“It feels good,” the 25-year-old said of making his first Opening Day roster. “I came into camp with that as the goal. To hear it from Boonie’s mouth was super exciting.”
Warren, scheduled to pitch in Tuesday’s exhibition against the Marlins in Miami, is lined up to start April 1 against the Diamondbacks — the Yankees’ fourth game of the season.
Warren will follow Carlos Rodón, Max Fried and Marcus Stroman. The Yankees, who have a few early off days in their schedule, are still finalizing when Carlos Carrasco will slot into the rotation.
“I’m excited about him and his future,” Boone said of Warren. “I like the strides he’s made. Last year he flashed it all. We saw glimpses of it. He took his lumps, too. I think he improved over the winter. He’s improved this spring. He’s earned this opportunity.”
As Boone mentioned, Warren struggled last season, debuting to a 10.32 ERA over his first six MLB games. However, he shined this camp, though a windy, homer-filled night inflated his ERA to 4.19 in his last spring training start.
Warren, Carrasco and even Stroman, who entered camp as the Yankees’ sixth starter after an offseason of trade rumors, were able to crack the rotation due to an onslaught of injuries. Gerrit Cole is out for the year because of Tommy John surgery, while Luis Gil won’t return until at least the summer thanks to a lat strain.
Meanwhile, a cranky back and shoulder fatigue delayed Clarke Schmidt and forced him to start the year on the injured list.
Despite being a bit buried on the depth chart, Warren said that he entered camp with the goal of making the team.
“You always got to set your sights high,” he said. “Unfortunately, we lost Gerrit and Luis for right now, so the opportunity arose. But coming in, aside from that, I definitely had my mind set on trying to make the team in any shape or form. So it’s exciting to get there now.”
Peraza Hopes to Stay
As the Yankees packed for a trip to Florida’s East Coast on Sunday, Oswald Peraza said that he had not been told anything about his roster status. With two games to go before Opening Day, the former top-100 prospect is focused on playing.
Peraza also said he would like to stay with the Yankees, the only organization he’s ever known.
“The Yankees are the team that I always wanted to play for, even back when I was a little kid,” said the infielder, who is scheduled to start against the Mets in Port St. Lucie on Monday. “They were the first team to give me a chance to become a professional baseball player. Obviously, given the chance, I’m gonna be right there to hopefully take advantage in the best way possible.”
If the Yankees do not roster Peraza, he will be exposed to waivers, as he is out of minor league options. They could also trade the 24-year-old, who appears to have been leapfrogged by non-roster invitee Pablo Reyes as a depth option, before that.
That Peraza is in this situation marks a fall from grace.
He enjoyed a successful first cup of coffee in the majors in 2022, debuting at the end of the year and starting a few playoff games. Some considered him the favorite to be the Yankees’ starting shortstop the following year, but he lost a competition for the job to fellow top prospect Anthony Volpe.
“That was a different situation, a different year,” Peraza said.
Since then, Peraza, a defensive wizard, has failed to show that he can hit big league pitching over limited opportunities. He’s also tried his hand at second and third.
Peraza was hitting just .174 this spring as of Sunday, but he said he’s felt “really good throughout camp.”
“I definitely want to have better numbers,” Peraza continued. “You want to probably produce in a better way. But overall, the way that I felt, the conversations that I had with the coaches, the tips and the way that they’ve explained to me how I can get even better, when you put that together with the way that I’ve been feeling, I’m confident enough to be able to get to where I want to be.”
Waiting On The Bullpen
Boone said the Yankees are “pretty close” to setting their 26-man roster, but they’re waiting to see who else becomes available as other teams crunch their own rosters.
In addition to some uncertainty on the bench, the team has three apparent bullpen openings. With Wilking Rodríguez reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday, Yoendrys Gómez, Brent Headrick and Yerry De Los Santos are the remaining internal candidates for the Bombers’ pen.
