Going into 2023, the Yankees almost have a potential initial five-man rotation locked into place. Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, and Luis Severino are obviously all locks as long as they’re healthy. While Frankie Montas had a poor run after the Yankees acquired him at the deadline, he’s still almost certainly going to start next season in the rotation. However, that leaves a fifth spot open. Sure, there are pitchers currently in the Yankees’ organization that they could put there if needed, but there’s no one that’s an obvious, no-brainer choice for that spot.
The reason that fifth spot is open to begin with is that Jameson Taillon’s contract expired after the 2022 season.