Yankees' Updated Pitching Rotation After Masahiro Tanaka Returns to Japan

After seven seasons with the New York Yankees, pitcher Masahiro Tanaka announced Thursday that he is returning to his native Japan to join the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.

The Yanks now figure to have a new-look rotation for 2021 aside from ace Gerrit Cole:

1. Gerrit Cole
2. Corey Kluber
3. Jameson Taillon
4. Domingo German
5. Jordan Montgomery, Deivi Garcia or Clarke Schmidt

The rotation also figures to experience another shake-up during the summer provided former ace Luis Severino returns from Tommy John surgery recovery and rehab as expected.

Tanaka was a consistent and reliable presence in the Yankees' rotation since 2014, as the two-time All-Star posted a 78-46 record with a 3.74 ERA in 173 starts. He also upped his game during the playoffs, going 5-4 with a 3.33 ERA in 10 starts.

With Tanaka gone, Cole will continue to be New York's clear No. 1 after signing a nine-year, $324 million deal with the Bronx Bombers ahead of the 2020 season. Cole, who went 7-3 with a 2.84 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 73 innings during his first season in New York, is the only absolute in the rotation.

Following him is a pair of offseason acquisitions in Kluber and Taillon.

New York signed the 34-year-old Kluber to a one-year, $11 million deal this offseason after he pitched in only one game for the Texas Rangers last season because of a shoulder injury. He also made only seven appearances the previous season with Cleveland.

While injuries have plagued Kluber in recent years, he was once among the most dominant pitchers in baseball, winning the American League Cy Young award in 2014 and 2017. If the three-time All-Star can come anywhere close to that level of play, he will be a steal for the Yankees.

Taillon, meanwhile, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 MLB draft. He hit his stride in 2018 when he went 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA, but his 2019 season was cut short after seven starts because of Tommy John surgery, and he didn't pitch at all last season.

The presumptive No. 4 starter is German, who also missed all of last season as a result of a suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence policy. In 2019, he went 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA and 153 strikeouts in 143 innings.

The fifth spot in the rotation is unsettled until Severino returns, with Montgomery, Garcia and Schmidt all potentially figuring into the mix.

Montgomery is a 6'6" lefty with four years of MLB experience, but he posted a disappointing 5.11 ERA last season in 10 starts. Garcia, 21, is one of New York's top prospects. He made six starts last season, going 3-2 with a 4.98 ERA, and he struck out almost a batter per inning and flashed some big-time potential. The 24-year-old Schmidt is also one of the Yanks' best prospects, but his big league experience is limited to just three appearances last season.

While the potential is undoubtedly there for the Yankees to have a great rotation in 2021, they'll need Kluber and Taillon to largely remain healthy, German and Severino to return to form after long layoffs, and perhaps one of Garcia or Schmidt to develop into a reliable option.