Yankees' Biggest Red Flags Early in 2023 Season

The New York Yankees have navigated a variety of injuries and a 14-14 record in April to climb to double-digit games above .500 heading into June, yet there are still plenty of red flags looking ahead to the remainder of the season.

The health of offseason signing Carlos Rodón and the starting rotation in general will continue to be a major storyline, and a recent rough patch from Gerrit Cole has added another wrinkle to that situation.

There is also a glaring hole in left field that will need to be sorted out, whether it's with an in-house player or an outside addition.

Ahead, we've taken a closer look at the Yankees' biggest red flags through the first two months of the 2023 season.

A Rough Patch from Gerrit Cole

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NEW YORK, NY - May 23: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees takes a moment by the pitchers mound before a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on May 23, 2023, in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images)

Gerrit Cole is one of baseball's true aces, and while he has endured the occasional rough patch the last few seasons, his time with the Yankees has been mostly terrific.

At first glance, he is having another ace-caliber season, going 6-0 with a 2.93 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 79 strikeouts in 73.2 innings over his first 12 starts, but he has run into a bit of trouble recently.

Over his last five starts, he has a 5.67 ERA in 27.0 innings, and opponents are hitting .268/.339/.518 against him with eight home runs. He only has one quality start during that stretch and has failed to complete six full innings three times.

He has still not suffered his first loss of the season, and the Yankees are 10-2 overall in his starts, but his recent performance is troubling nonetheless.

A Lack of Production in Left Field

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Oswaldo Cabrera

Oswaldo Cabrera, Aaron Hicks, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Jake Bauers, Greg Allen, Franchy Cordero and Willie Calhoun have all seen time in left field for the New York Yankees this season.

The combined stat line by their left fielders:

• 217 PA, .227/.295/.369, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 50 K

The team finally cut ties with the oft-injured Hicks when he was released on Friday, and Kiner-Falefa, Bauers and Calhoun have all made starts at the position since the veteran was sent packing.

Longtime Los Angeles Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun is hitting .286/.402/.546 with 11 extra-base hits in 20 games at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre since he was signed to a minor league deal in April, and he could get a look before too long.

The Health of Carlos Rodón and the Starting Rotation

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TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 20: Carlos Rodón #55 of the New York Yankees throws during Spring Training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 20, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images)

The Yankees were without Luis Severino for the bulk of the first two months of the season, and they are still waiting on offseason signing Carlos Rodón to make his regular-season debut with the team.

Severino has a 1.59 ERA in two starts since returning to action, but he pitched just 18 total innings from 2019 through 2021 and was limited to 19 starts again last year, so counting on him to stay healthy the rest of the way is a risky proposition.

Meanwhile, Rodón has been nursing a forearm strain, and while he is currently on the rehab trail, he too has a long injury history. In eight big league seasons, he has topped 150 innings just twice, and last year was the first time he reached 30 starts.

In their absence, the team's lack of quality starting pitching depth has been exposed, and it's an issue they will need to monitor closely throughout the season.

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All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and accurate through Tuesday's games.