Ryan Weathers' return from long Yankees absence proves he's an unfinished product

Pitchers have bad days. Defenses have long, tired bus rides. Managers have three-plus hour spring slogs they'd rather forget. But Sunday's Yankees failure against the Mets, as forgettable as it was and as little as it will matter in the long run, should officially end a bubbling narrative. Yes, Ryan Weathers has remarkably enticing stuff. No, the Yankees' pitching lab didn't unequivocally heal him in a matter of weeks.

The Yankees pulled the curtain off their premier offseason pitching acquisition on Wed., Feb. 25 against the Washington Nationals, and he proceeded to drop jaws. Weathers' velocity peaked close to 100, the highest value of his career to date. Despite inconsistency with the pitch, a few of the dazzling changeups he landed helped raise his metaphorical ceiling in a matter of minutes. Most spring debuts don't last very long. Neither did Weathers' — but it was because of his remarkable efficiency, not an abundance of caution. His pitch count took him through nearly five innings. It was a tour-de-force of elevated velocity.

Weathers didn't make another start between Feb. 25 and March 8, throwing a live bullpen on a back field instead in the interim (March 3). As always, the Yankees' slow play made sense; no use wasting the good stuff in exhibition play, as long as the buildup matches the proper timeline. Of course, that delay also bred questions from fans who weren't paying air-tight attention to social media. Had something happened to Weathers? Were the Yankees hiding him as they worked on his arsenal? Or was this dead period just an example of too many mouths to feed? Regardless, the expectations were sky high for his next appearance after everyone used Outing No. 1 to get their, "I always told you Ryan Weathers was the Yankees' X-Factor!!!" columns published.

His second start came against the Mets on Sunday. His fielders were sloppy. His fastball was choppy. The much more hittable Weathers had significant trouble out of the stretch after a Francisco Álvarez single started the gravy train rolling in the second frame. He couldn't escape either the second or third frames, reinserted after a reliever cleared up his first mess, and allowed seven hits and five earned runs.

Is there reason for alarm? No. This is how it works. This is who he still is. But there also wasn't reason enough for certified vindication after his first appearance, either.

Ryan Weathers falls down Yankees' rotation depth chart with second spring training start?

This is why we can't judge too harshly or too favorably. Luis Gil showed the velocity uptick the Yankees needed to see, recording six strikeouts against the Red Sox in his most recent outing. Weathers could not have been more impressive in his debut, but quickly unraveled after a small speed bump in his second. If the peak version of both pitchers shows up, Weathers probably has the edge. But the reality of the situation is that both men are at the same place they begin their spring mini-competition: firmly in the Yankees' No. 5 starter mix, potentially relegated to the bullpen when the team is at full strength.

If the Yankees ever reach that level of strength, they'll have some luxury decisions to make. For now, Weathers remains a high-upside swingman masquerading as an ace on certain days. There's no shame in that.