The New York Yankees have a crowded rotation picture entering 2026. If anything, they could use a few more certainties rather than wild cards. Signing Merrill Kelly to insure against Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole's late arrivals? You know exactly what you're getting. Banking on youngsters stepping up or Cole/Rodón/Clarke Schmidt in September being their usual selves right away? It could work, but it likely won't.
Both Cole and Rodón should be major pieces of a hypothetical 2026 playoff rotation, but Schmidt? It seems far less likely. His UCL snapped beyond the point of homeopathic repair in early July, mere weeks after his peak.