The New York Yankees have a shaky starting lineup for a while now. At the moment, they are missing the presence of their ace pitcher, Gerrit Cole. The reigning AL Cy Young winner hurt his right elbow in the spring training. He may not return to the lineup before early June. Moreover, the Bronx Bombers will have to manage without their most dependable hurler for at least two months, as it seems. However, it would be very hard for the NY side to replace their ace with the remaining starting pitchers they have. On the other hand, they have more or less a deep bullpen. But the question is, will that be enough for the Yankees to maintain a winning streak?
Among the starters, Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes are questionable after the terrible 2023 season they had. They had long injury issues that cost them last season. On Opening Day 2024, Cortes played the role of Cole as the Yankees starter. He did more or less good. But the NY side was in trouble after the first half as the Houston Astros were leading 4-0. Later, due to Juan Soto’s brilliance, the Bronx Bombers managed to secure a great comeback victory. Lately, the Yankees landed a RHP from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
How Helpful Will RHP JT Brubaker Be For The Yankees?
On Friday, the New York Yankees announced that they landed RHP JT Brubaker from the Pirates. Besides JT, the Bronx Bombers also received international bonus pool space. That’s for a player, they will name later. It was MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf who reported this story at first. However, the concern for the Yankees Nation regarding Brubaker is that he won’t be available right away. He is still in the process of recovery from Tommy John surgery. The former Pirates RHP had Tommy John surgery last year.
The New York Yankees today announced that they have acquired right-handed pitcher JT Brubaker and international signing bonus money from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for a player to be named later.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 29, 2024
Currently, he is still on the 60-day Injured List (IL). Perhaps the RHP aims to return around before or after the All-Star break. Then, the NY side can cosider him as an option for their rotation. Moreover, JT Brubaker does not have jaw-dropping career numbers. But there is always a chance that he might re-establish himself after Tommy John surgery. His career has only been going on for three years now. But in these years, JT recorded 9-28. He had an ERA of 4.99 after throwing 315.2 innings.
The Bronx Bombers Had A Great Start
On Opening Day, the Houston Astros were dominating the NY side in the first half. But immediately after that things started to change as Juan Soto hit an RBI single. The Yankees made a stunning comeback from 0-4. But the brilliance of Juan Soto did not just stop at his offensive skills.
JUAN SOTO SAVES THE YANKEES WITH THIS THROW 🤯 pic.twitter.com/MIeFERMWP3
— betr (@betr) March 28, 2024
The biggest highlight of the opening-day encounter between the Astros and the Yankees was the Dominican superstar’s bullet throw to Jose Trevino to prevent the Astros from scoring a RBI single. It was during that moment when the Yankees were leading 5-4 in the ninth inning. As a result, Juan Soto made a huge mark on Opening Day for the 27-time champions at Minute Maid Park. The Dominican superstar might want to have a great season with the Yankees before entering free agency.
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