Yankees facing critical decisions as August baseball begins

Is there an innings limit?

By the end of August, it’s likely both Jordan Montgomery and Luis Severino will have pitched more innings than ever before as a professional ballplayer. That will be a red flag for the Yankees. Or, at least it should be.

The Yankees, as well as all major league teams, have monitored the New York Mets pitching staff over the last few years. They watched, perhaps with a hint of jealousy at the time, the Mets barrel themselves into the playoffs, eventually reaching the World Series in 2015.

But the Yankees have also seen the devastation left behind, with Jason deGrom the only pitcher left standing for the Mets in 2017, just two seasons later. And even the Mets themselves, grudgingly, have admitted they went too far with their young arms.

The Yankees need to figure out a way to avoid that from happening. The urge to win today needs to be coupled with a look forward into the future. And that’s not an easy thing to do, especially when you play in New York and the pressure to win is always on.

A couple more starts like the Mongomery had today (2.1 innings) will solve the problem, but obviously, that’s not what the team is looking for.

Instead the addition of Jaime Garcia and perhaps one other starter, still to be named, is a better solution, as well as the call-ups that will come in September when (perhaps), Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield join the team.

But don’t forget, they’ve been pitching all year in the minors, and they’ll need to be monitored closely by the team as well.

Again, it’s something to watch.