Yankees' strikeout-fest vs Rays shouldn't overshadow growing Will Warren problem

The Yankees followed up their 5-1 win over the Rays on Monday night with a deflating loss on Tuesday, which featured 17 strikeouts. Paul Goldschmidt and Jose Caballero registered golden sombreros. Somehow, though, they only lost 6-4 and were within the grasp of victory multiple times.

But that's nothing new. This lineup is always swinging and missing, and it's particularly bad right now with all the injuries and the depth being tested. The bigger issue is in the rotation, as Will Warren once again delivered a lifeless, subpar outing after getting help from his struggling offense. Then, he put the team in a hole they couldn't climb out of.

Warren now has a 4.15 ERA on the season. He finished last year with a 4.44 ERA. The reality is that not much has changed. The right-hander has made 18 starts in 2026 and the results have been the same. He's still giving up a ton of contact. He's still shrinking in big moments. He's still getting victimized by grooving pitches right over the plate. He really can't handle elevated competition.

The hard contact remains a concern. His sinker and sweeper have been downright terrible. His changeup has been great, but he's barely using it! Whatever the issue is, the 27-year-old is not building off any momentum, he's not locating his pitches, and he's killing the pitching staff when the Yankees need lengthy outings the most.

Will Warren's production is killing the Yankees since Max Fried's injury

Warren has not completed six innings since May 31. New York is 2-4 in his last six starts, and he even managed to give away multi-run leads in the two wins. He has just one quality start against a top-10 offense (Astros). On Tuesday night, he surrendered home runs to Victor Mesa Jr., who is hitting .188 with a .350 slugging percentage, and Hunter Feduccia, who had one home run in his first 92 MLB games.

There's a bigger storyline here, though. On top of Warren failing the Yankees when all anybody is asking for is mediocrity, he's cratering his trade value. There were some hopes of Brian Cashman being able to dangle Warren at the 2026 deadline for an impact player. Warren wouldn't fetch that player by himself, but he could've been used in an expanded package.

Now? Who wants this? More than half of his season has been unacceptable, and he hasn't been tasked with carrying any sort of load. The rotation, despite so many injuries, has remained deep, leaving Warren as a back-end option. If he can't handle that, then why would another team believe in him?

The right-hander was candid in his postgame, admitting to his current woes. But that's been the story for weeks now. He's acknowledged not being able to execute. The fact of the matter is that it's not much to ask for one quality outing in your last six starts against offenses in the bottom half of the league.

The Yankees can't harness momentum and their trade deadline assets are dissipating before their very eyes.

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