Sometimes the toughest message comes before the lights even turn on.
| May 19, 2025
Will Warren showed up to Yankee Stadium on Saturday thinking it would be a major milestone — his first scheduled start at home in the Bronx, a chance to prove he belonged in pinstripes.
Instead, he left without ever stepping on the mound.
In a surprising internal decision, Yankees manager Aaron Boone informed the 24-year-old pitcher that he would no longer be making the start, pulling him from the rotation spot entirely before warm-ups began. No injury. No illness. Just a message.
“He needs to understand what it takes,” said a team source. “Right now, we’re not seeing the focus and readiness we expect from someone wearing this uniform.”
Warren had been prepping all week for the start and was originally listed as the probable pitcher. But according to reports, Yankees coaches saw warning signs during side sessions and team meetings — mechanical lapses, inconsistent command, and what some called “a lack of urgency.”
This isn’t about talent. Warren has one of the more electric arsenals in the Yankees’ farm system and has shown flashes of brilliance. But after two rocky MLB outings and a reportedly poor bullpen session this week, the Yankees made a firm choice to hit pause — before the stakes got too high.
In his place, the Yankees are expected to call up Yoendrys Gómez for a spot start while Warren may be sent back down to Triple-A Scranton for recalibration.
The message from the Yankees is clear: you don’t just earn a start by showing up with a good arm — you earn it by showing up locked in, every day.
Warren is still viewed as a promising piece of the future. But this weekend, the Yankees reminded him — and everyone else in the clubhouse — that the expectations in New York are different. In the Bronx, every pitch matters. Even the ones you never get to throw.
