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Yankees: 3 obvious changes NYY must make after last-place start

By Adam Weinrib

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 16: Nick Nelson #79 of the New York Yankees reacts in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on April 16, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 16: Nick Nelson #79 of the New York Yankees reacts in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on April 16, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – September 26: Pitcher Deivi Garcia #83 of the New York Yankees pitches in an interleague MLB baseball game against the Miami Marlins on September 26, 2020 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Yankees won 11-4. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /

1. Promote Deivi Garcia and Michael King

Despite a lights-out spring training, Domingo German has not kept the baseball in the park in two starts this season, continuing his remarkable streak of allowing opposing batters to drill the longball.

Since the start of 2019, German has allowed 34 homers in 150 innings, the fourth-worst per-nine-innings rate in the game. And 2019 was supposed to be the season that argued in his favor.

At the moment, Jameson Taillon and Corey Kluber are still finding their sea legs, and at best are five-and-fly arms (Taillon appears closer to being effective than Kluber). That’s left a razor-thin margin for error for Jordan Montgomery and Gerrit Cole, and the team’s third-best pitcher…has been jettisoned back and forth to the Alternate Site twice and hasn’t started a game.

Michael King has been electric, striking out seven in nine shutout innings across two relief appearances, pinpointing a 97 MPH fastball that’s run from the front hip consistently well. He’s been an amazing caddy and, unfortunately, far better than Nick Nelson. Everyone loves the stuff. No one loves his frustrating outings as an opener, something he admitted he had no interest in doing.

Deivi Garcia, meanwhile, proved himself good enough to start a playoff game in 2020 despite being just 21 years old. Now he’s not good enough to start for a 5-10 team?

Wasting a potential rookie star’s bullets in a glorified extended spring training makes no sense, but neither does anything this team does. Call him up, insert him into the rotation, line King up as his caddy, and flip-flop their roles if need be.

Demote Nelson and, unfortunately, remove Lucas Luetge from the roster for now. Whatever it takes, find a way to get these effective kids to soak up German’s innings.

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