WITH MONTAS OUT, MAKE CLARKE SCHMIDT THE 5TH STARTER

You know, as I wrote in FRANKIE MONTAS & CARL PAVANO MUST BE FRIENDS, "Frankie Montas was a pitcher that the Yankee fan base wanted only because the media fueled our need for him. We never really needed Frankie Montas. And now that we have him, he's literally a 6th starter, the odd man out... the guy that we no longer need because, let's face it, he's not that good. "

This is true.  Now that he's hurt, we have a hole in the 5th rotation role.  I believe it should be up for grabs and whomever performs best in Spring Training should get it.  Like... what about a guy like Clarke Schmidt?

Great piece here on SB Nation and Andrés Chávez writes:

"Let’s start with some of his overall numbers. Schmidt was mostly a starter in his stint at Triple-A and left with a 3.27 ERA in 33 innings, alongside a brilliant 2.11 FIP and a rock-solid 9/46 BB/K ratio. In the majors he was mostly a reliever, starting just three of his 29 games. He was often used for multiple innings, though, and had a good 3.12 ERA (3.60 FIP) in 57.2 frames, with a 23/56 BB/K ratio."

Now you're asking me... "What about German?" Great question. My opinion is that the Yankees have cooled on him. If they didn't, they would have worked him out and showed him off in the post season last year. But they didn't.  That gives me an indication that they really don't love this guy, OR, they feel he's just not ready.  And that's why I think the idea of Schmidt makes better sense.

Look, it will all shake out in spring training.  For now though, give that SB Nation article a look. It's great and makes a good argument for Clarke.