It might be a little early to panic but the New York Yankees’ rotation has to be weighing heavily on the minds of manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman. While everyone is focusing on the Yankees’ inability to currently hit with runners in scoring position, or raving about the Yankees’ new-look bullpen, the rotation and its issues are getting glossed over.

Maybe the Yankees’ starting rotation isn’t getting the press because it was a known question mark coming into this season. The questions were there and the biggest one of all revolved around the number of innings the starters would provide. Right now, Yankees’ starters are coming in last in the American League with 61.2 innings and averaging just 5.2 innings per start. The Yankees’ bullpen has had to pick up much of the slack. While the bullpen has been outstanding thus far, it is only April 19, and the innings will add up eventually and tax arms down the stretch.

The starters just haven’t gotten the job done. There are high pitch counts, runs are being allowed in bunches and it seems everything that can go wrong is going wrong. They lead the AL with a 5.25 ERA. This may just be from starters who haven’t got into gear yet, but given the recent history and the fact that no Yankees’ starter managed 200 innings last year, one has to wonder where the relief for the relievers will come from.

The Yankees can’t afford to have their starters go six innings or less night in and night out no matter how good their bullpen has been. Amazingly, through the bullpen depth Girardi has been able to avoid trotting out the same relievers night in and night out. The rainouts the Yankees have encountered have helped as well. Right now Dellin Betances leads the team with six appearances, which is tied with a lot of guys for fourth in the league.

Cashman has to be getting worried though. Bryan Mitchell went down at the end of Spring Training and is out for four months. Ivan Nova is in the bullpen but has looked pedestrian. Luis Cessa was sent down to Triple-A to work as a starter. There are few other options. At Triple-A there aren’t many options. Kyle Haynes, Chad Green, Tyler Cloyd, Anthony Swarzak and Ronald Herrera have started games. None are viable options at this time.

With these limited options, Cashman might have to make a trade. Tyson Ross has been linked to the Yankees in the past but he is on the 15-day DL with a shoulder injury, though it doesn’t seem serious. Sonny Gray might be made available. No starter would come cheap and Cashman has been reluctant to part with his best prospects.

For the moment it looks like the Yankees are just going to hope their starters turn it around. For their sake, and the sake of the arms in the bullpen, that turnaround had better happen soon.