Yankees reveal unexpected four-man starting rotation plan to begin 2026 season

The New York Yankees are entering the 2026 MLB season with not just postseason aspirations, but a goal of winning the World Series.

While the lineup is in great shape, there are a lot of questions about their starting rotation for the 2026 season. They're dealing with a few key injuries already, leading to a weaker rotation.

With those injuries, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that the Yankees are going to employ an unexpected pitching plan for the starting rotation. This season, the Yankees will begin the year with a four-man rotation.

Yankees to begin season with 4-man rotation

"The Yankees will begin with a 4-man rotation: Fried, Schlittler, Warren, and Weathers," Heyman reports. "They are still discussing where to start Luis Gil, who struggled this spring before looking better in his last start."

Going from the typical five-man rotations to a four-man rotation would be a shocking way to begin the year for the Yankees. A four-man rotation is what teams will use in the postseason, not typically in the regular season.

But this isn't going to be a long-term solution. Max Fried, Will Warren, Cam Schlittler, and Ryan Weathers are the temporary four-man rotation.

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Luis Gil could still factor into the rotation early this season, while Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon could come back from injuries this season and have large roles for the Yankees.

That also doesn't even include a few minor leaguers like Elmer Rodriguez, Osvaldo Bido, and Carlos Lagrange, who could make their way onto the MLB roster at some point this season.

While the future of the rotation in New York might not be a four-man rotation, and it might actually turn into a six-to-eight-man deep rotation by the season's end, they're beginning the year a bit short-staffed.

More MLB news:

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• Joey Wentz is out for the season with a torn ACL for the Braves
• Reds’ Hunter Greene to be out until July amid brutal injury news
• Braves predicted to trade Bryce Elder for Lars Nootbaar
• Jesus Luzardo’s $135 million extension is a steal for Phillies