Elmer Rodríguez is set to start Sunday for the New York Yankees instead of Gerrit Cole, a shuffle that pushes Cole to Monday in Detroit. Aaron Boone made the move to give every starter an extra day of rest during a stretch of 16 games in 16 days.
Boone Reworks Sunday
Boone said the club had been weighing the change for the past few days. He tied it directly to workload, not to any setback with Cole, and pointed to the long run of games as the reason the rotation needed a reset.
“It’s something we’ve been kicking around the last few days,” he said after the Yankees lost 10-2 to the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. “I think he’s recovered well, too.”
Rodríguez Leaves Columbus
Rodríguez had been slated to start Saturday night for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in Columbus, Ohio. Instead, he is heading into a major league assignment after making three starts in the majors this season.
The 22-year-old enters Sunday with a 0-1 record and a 4.15 ERA. He was the Yankees’ No. 6 overall prospect going into the season according to The Athletic’s Keith Law, and Boone said, “He’s come up (and) he’s had some bumps.”
“But I feel like he’s managed it well. He’s shown some poise out there in some moments (when) it’s had chances to get away for us. Excited to see him go out (Sunday) and hopefully give us a good outing,” Boone said.
Cole’s Workload Matters
Cole has pitched in five starts this season and is 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA. He threw a season-high 90 pitches in six innings on Tuesday, allowed two runs, and beat the Chicago White Sox at home. Boone said, “But we also want to play a long game with all these guys. Obviously, Carlos (Rodón) comes back. (We have) younger guys in the rotation that have logged a lot of innings. Feel like they’re all in a good spot but want to be pretty mindful of this as we go through the summer with a long stretch here.”
That long stretch includes Cam Schlittler’s 95 innings, Ryan Weathers’ 80 2/3 innings, Will Warren’s 78 1/3 total innings and Carlos Rodón’s 36 frames in six starts since returning from the injured list on May 10. Boone said it would not be shocking if the Yankees used a six-man rotation at least until the All-Star break, which starts July 13.
For now, the immediate change is simple: Rodríguez gets Sunday, Cole gets Monday in Detroit, and the Yankees buy another day for each starter before the schedule tightens again.
