Yankees Could Be in Serious Trouble Amid Ryan Weathers Injury Concerns

Ryan Weathers was one of the more reliable starters for the Yankees throughout the 2026 season. He has a 3.60 ERA through 25 appearances, but since July 25, Weathers has easily been one of their best starters, with five earned runs in his last 35 innings pitched. It's the type of run needed with Carlos Rodón on the mend, and now Max Fried being out for a short time again.

One thing about potentially losing Weathers to an elbow injury isn't just about him taking the mound every fifth day. Fried's return will mitigate that. It was the fact that Weathers could also have served as a bullpen arm come the postseason and down the stretch.

With an overtaxed bullpen, Paul Blackburn, David Bednar and Brent Headrick could have all used some help, and with a full rotation, Weathers could have provided that relief in more ways than one. As a built-up starter, Weathers could have given the Yankees multiple quality innings on a given day, giving them the type of weapon that the Dodgers had last season with Rōki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.

Yankees' secret weapon out of the bullpen

This is the role that Ryan Yarbrough currently has for the Yankees. Just as Yarbrough got a three-inning save for his team last Thursday, Weathers could have been similarly positioned to do something like that out of the bullpen. The Yankees probably don't totally trust Yarbrough, though, seeing as they use him sporadically, and they likely would have gone to Weathers more.

Yarbrough simply does not have the nasty stuff that Weathers has. Weathers can dial it up to the high 90s, but his offspeed and breaking stuff are lethal. His changeup has a 34.9% whiff rate, and his sweeper gets batters to swing and miss at a 38.4% clip.

Weathers isn't just prolific at generating strikeouts, either. Few in baseball are better at rendering groundballs, too. Weathers has an 83rd percentile 49.5% groundball rate, according to Baseball Savant.

To lose Weathers would be such a big loss. Will Warren might be able to slot into that role come the postseason, but it's pretty clear that Weathers is better at this point.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Will Warren rubs his face — Even if Will Warren can help, the Yankees would likely rather have Ryan Weathers as a bullpen option. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Weathers has the stuff to give six to seven strong innings on a given night. Warren, unfortunately, hasn't been as dependable. He has a 5.77 ERA in his last 12 starts. He might thrive in a bullpen role if Weathers is out, but the Yankees would probably prefer keeping him out of high-leverage situations.

For all the injuries that the Yankees sustained this year, potentially losing Weathers could be one of their worst by far. He had a chance at revamping a bullpen that has been overused over the last few months. Now, it remains to be seen how New York will handle what comes next and whether the bullpen will become an even bigger concern.

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