The Yankees have been hit hard by the injury bug this spring, particularly in the rotation. But general manager Brian Cashman downplayed the possibility of the club going outside the organization to get help, per Erik Boland of Newsday and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Cashman said that “very little” is available on the pitching market at this time of year and that the Yanks will “rely on what we have.” While he did say they would explore other options, he admitted that tax penalties make it “less likely” they go with an external addition.

At this point, the rotation challenges are well known. The club lost their ace for the entire season and perhaps some of next year, with Gerrit Cole undergoing Tommy John surgery today. Luis Gil, last year’s Rookie of the Year, has a lat strain that could keep him out for roughly three months. Even deeper down the depth chart, JT Brubaker is out with broken ribs while prospect Chase Hampton also required Tommy John surgery.

That leaves the Yanks with a rotation of Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt and Marcus Stroman. Candidates for a fifth spot include Will Warren, Yoendrys Gómez and Brent Headrick, as well as non-roster invitees like Carlos Carrasco and Allan Winans. That could still be a solid rotation but it’s obviously less imposing without Cole or Gil. Cashman admits that the club “can’t afford to take too many more” injury hits.

That has led to speculation about how the club will respond. Free agency still features guys like Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, Spencer Turnbull and others. Guys like Dylan Cease, Jordan Montgomery, Taijuan Walker or Sandy Alcántara might be attainable via trade.

Cashman’s comments suggest he isn’t going to make a move just for the sake of doing one. It’s possible these comments were made for posturing purposes, as he wouldn’t be helping his bargaining position by admitting he’s desperate to bring in another arm.

However, it does seem as though the Yankees hit their spending limit. They were an on-paper fit for adding an infielder and were connected to guys like Jorge Polanco and Brendan Rodgers. Polanco landed with the Mariners on a modest $7.75MM guarantee while Rodgers settled for a minor league deal with the Astros. The Yankees were connected to various relievers this winter but invested very little in their bullpen. They added Devin Williams in a fairly cash-neutral deal that sent Nestor Cortes to the Brewers. They sent Jose Trevino to the Reds for Fernando Cruz, a deal that saved them money. They made modest one-year investments in Jonathan Loáisiga and Tim Hill.

RosterResource has the club’s payroll at $285MM and their competitive balance tax figure at $305MM. They finished 2024 at $303MM and $313MM in those categories respectively, but likely want to save some wiggle room for in-season additions. As Cashman alluded to, the club faces a high tax bill. As third-time payors above the $301MM top threshold of the CBT, they face a 110% tax on anything they add.

The pitching market has softened from earlier in the winter. Guys like Andrew Heaney and Jose Quintana have recently signed deals in the $4-6MM range, well below the expectations from the start of the offseason. But for the Yankees, giving someone like Gibson a hypothetical $5MM deal would actually cost them more than $10MM, when factoring in the taxes.

There’s also the question of what kind of performance can be expected out of a guy signing this late. Both Montgomery and Blake Snell signed well into spring last year and both struggled out of the gate. Snell got back on track in the second half but Montgomery never did, finishing the year with a 6.23 earned run average. Trading for a pitcher who is stretched out in some other club’s camp wouldn’t come with that concern but each of Cease, Montgomery, Walker and Alcántara have eight-figure salaries for the upcoming year, meaning the CBT hit would be even greater than the available free agent options.

It all makes for a tricky situation as the Yankees approach the start of the season. The rotation has clearly been hit and isn’t in an ideal place. Upgrades are justifiable on paper but Cashman can’t do much if ownership won’t extend his budget.