Alexander Wilson
The Yankees are giving Gerrit Cole an extra day and handing Sunday to Elmer Rodriguez, which is one of those moves that sounds normal until you stare at it for five seconds. Then it starts to feel like a small July trade-deadline argument wearing a June disguise.
Elmer Rodriguez gets Cincinnati with the Yankees trying to protect Cole’s surgically repaired elbow, get through a long stretch of games, and avoid turning one ugly Saturday loss into a whole rotation mood. I get the logic. I also get why it feels a little itchy.
Through three starts, Rodriguez has thrown 13 innings with a 4.15 ERA, 1.85 WHIP, 15 hits allowed, nine walks, and only six strikeouts. The 6.23 FIP underneath it is uglier, and a 14.1 percent walk rate is the stat that makes me squint. The line is not “hide the kids” territory, but it is not clean either.
The contact profile gives him a little oxygen. Rodriguez has allowed an 88.1 mph average exit velocity, a 37 percent hard-hit rate, and a 4.3 percent barrel rate. Hitters have not exactly been detonating him when he finds the zone. The problem is the finding-the-zone part, which is kind of important.
The Yankees are protecting the bigger plan
Cole matters more in October than he does on a random Sunday against the Reds. The whole argument lives right there. If the Yankees can buy him an extra day without wrecking the bullpen, they should do it.
The Yankees also need to keep evaluating what they have behind the obvious names. Cam Schlittler has changed the top of the rotation conversation. Max Fried and Clarke Schmidt still sit in the bigger health picture. Will Warren, Ryan Weathers, and Rodriguez all carry different versions of upside and heartburn.
Rodriguez can make July less frantic
This goes beyond one start. If Rodriguez gives the Yankees five useful innings while cutting the free passes, the front office gets another real data point before the deadline market gets stupid.
If he sprays the zone and forces Boone into the bullpen early, the Yankees learn something too, just in a more annoying way. Rodriguez is not going to decide the deadline plan by himself. He can absolutely make the Yankees feel better or worse about how much rotation insurance they really need.
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