Ryan Weathers is proving the Yankees are staking far too much on project trades

Dating back to last year's trade deadline, the New York Yankees have made an effort to revamp their pitching staff in some way. The highlights include signing Max Fried and Ryan Yarbrough, elevating Will Warren and Cam Schlittler, and trading for David Bednar and Fernando Cruz.

But for as many highlights, there are lowlights. Trading for Devin Williams was largely a disaster. Jake Bird and Camilo Doval aren't exactly instilling confidence. Plenty of past mistakes loomed large over the last two seasons (Marcus Stroman, Scott Effross, Mark Leiter Jr., JT Brubaker ... the list goes on), but at the very least those guys are gone.

Another question mark is Ryan Weathers, who the Yankees traded for back in January when they made a four-for-one deal with the Miami Marlins. The deal was rightfully criticized at the time, and it's becoming evident that the left-hander may not be a fit for the starting rotation (which is ostensibly the organization's plan).

His last two spring outings have only emphasized that and it very much feels like his future role is up in the air. The initial concerns focused on his health (he's appeared in just 70 games since debuting in 2021 and just 40 games since 2022). Though he's looked pretty good over his last 24 starts across 2024-2025, there's just no way to properly project what he'll be able to do given the volatility surrounding his availability.

But perhaps worse is the fact he's stumbled greatly since his electric spring debut with the Yankees. So far, Weathers has allowed nine earned runs on 15 hits, two walks and two hit by pitches in 9 1/3 innings (three starts). Opponents are hitting .357 against him.

Those 3 2/3 scoreless innings against the Nationals on Feb. 25 feel like ages ago. The Mets and Braves have knocked him around his last two times out and he only has so much time remaining before Opening Day.

Given the Yankees' injuries to begin the season (Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón will be out at least a month while Clarke Schmidt is probably done for the year), Weathers represented back-end rotation help if he was able to remain healthy and harness his stuff like he did the last two campaigns.

Though three spring starts isn't going to make or break his ability to contribute, the Yankees just keep proving that these lower cost "project" trades aren't sufficient when trying to build a winner. Brian Cashman probably would've been better off trading those four prospects for a more established bullpen arm, an area of the roster where the Yankees need a lot of help.

Weathers is simply not a finished product. The upside remains there, but you can only task pitching coach Matt Blake with so many of these. We've already learned that with Angel Chivilli and Cade Winquest this offseason, and we're hoping Weathers can carve out some semblance of a contributing role despite some early red flags.