Mets, Yankees using rare pitching formula in playoff push could not have been foreseen

Will Warren is not the most valuable Yankee. He may, though, have the most valuable accomplishment for the 2025 team by simply going from beginning to end in a rotation that would have teetered badly without that.

Warren arrived at spring training as the No. 7 starter — perhaps No. 8 if the Yankees wanted to look at Carlos Carrasco first. But injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt meant both Carrasco and Warren made the opening rotation — as did expected No. 6 starter Marcus Stroman.

And what has happened since is Rotation Survivor — aside from the mainstays Max Fried and Carlos Rodón. Cole needed Tommy John surgery and was lost for the season. Schmidt would return for 14 starts before needing the same procedure. Gil’s lat strain kept him out until August. Carrasco and Stroman pitched themselves off the team. Allan Winans never gave an inkling that he was a major league starter. And …

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Well, there is no “and.” This is where Warren’s value rises. If he could not be durable and competent, the Yankees would have turned where exactly? Cam Schlittler was the last internal chess piece when he was summoned to replace Schmidt in early July.