NYY vs. PHI: Allan Winans vs. Taijuan Walker

03/14/2025 06:05 PM

Allan Winans gets the start for the starting pitching-bereft Yankees

Spring training continues apace this St. Patrick's Day weekend. To kick off the festivities, the Yankees host the Phillies tonight in Tampa.

Allan Winans gets the start for New York. Designated for assignment 37 days ago by the Yankees, Winans now looks like he could be important rotation depth for a club missing 2024 AL Rookie of the Year winner Luis Gil for a few months and staff ace and 2023 AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole for all of 2025.

The 29-year-old enters his third major league season after struggling in Atlanta in limited action the past two seasons. For what it's worth, he's had an excellent spring. Entering tonight, he's allowed one run in 8.1 innings, giving up only six hits and one walk. Winans offers four pitches, a four-seam fastball, a changeup, a sinker, and a slider. He won't overpower anyone, with his four-seamer averaging around 90 mph the past two seasons.

Offensively, Jazz Chisholm, Jr. gets the leadoff spot tonight for the Yankees with Aaron Judge slotted in behind him. Cody Bellinger, who's having a monster spring, protects Judge in the 3-hole, which is where I suspect we'll see Belli the vast majority of 2025 if everything goes to plan for Aaron Boone. All told, tonight's lineup is littered with regulars and guys who could see considerable playing time in the Bronx this season.

Philadelphia is sending Taijuan Walker out to face the Yankees. Walker likely wants to completely forget 2024, when he was absolutely awful. As recently as 2022, however, Walker was an above-average major league starting pitcher.

Kick off the weekend with a win, Yankees. Hopefully Winans can continue his excellent spring, along with Bellinger and some of the other hot bats in the Yankee lineup.

How to watch

Location: George M. Steinbrenner Field – Tampa, FL

First pitch: 6:35 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, 94 WIP

Online stream: MLB.tv

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