The New York Yankees are trying to navigate an odd situation at this point of the season. They have six healthy, solid starters eager to get the ball every five days.
These scenarios are truly a rarity. Most organizations are struggling to put together a competitive rotation, some of them with replacement-level options, due to injuries and unexpected underperformance.
The Yankees, on the other hand, have a Cy Young award winner (Gerrit Cole), three All-Stars (Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman, Carlos Rodon), and two young, ascending starters (Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt) all ready to roll.
The team sent Cortes (3.90 ERA) to the bullpen last weekend and he didn’t love it.
The Yankees are now skipping Stroman
They appear to be implementing some sort of a rotation system to skip a start here and there because this week, it will be Stroman (4.07 ERA) skipped in his turn, which was supposed to come next week.
Out of the six hurlers in the rotation, Stroman is the one struggling the most. He has a 5.45 ERA in his last seven starts and hasn’t been truly reliable since the first half.
The Yankees consider he could use a bit of a break, and according to manager Aaron Boone, he took the news well.
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As for Cortes, he punched out nine hitters in his last start against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, in just five innings. The Yankees are confident that he will keep up the good form, as he is throwing the ball really well at the moment with a 4-1 record and a 3.03 ERA in his last seven turns.
What will the Yankees do in the future if no one gets hurt? What will they do in the postseason? These are all fascinating questions and we shall find out the answers soon enough.
