The Yankees have hit a bit of a rough patch, losing their last three games and four of their last five after opening up their latest road trip with a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Tigers. Gerrit Cole looked his most vulnerable since returning from the IL, going 4.1 innings and allowing five runs on nine hits with one walk against five strikeouts. The last of those runs came on a home run from Riley Greene in the fifth inning, but there was plenty of contact to go around Detroit’s lineup as they
built a lead that would survive New York’s comeback attempt later in the night.
Cole’s stinker came as the Yankees pushed his start back a day, having called up Elmer Rodríguez for a spot start on Sunday, and the rotation at large has taken on a massive workload leading the charge atop the division thus far. The starters have been the strongest part of their roster as we approach the halfway point, with a Cy Young candidate (and arguably frontrunner) in Cam Schlittler alongside bonafide aces of the past with Cole, Max Fried, and Carlos Rodón rounding out the top four. Will Warren has shown major strides in his second full season in the majors, and Ryan Weathers has done yeoman’s work as the fifth starter. There’s been constant speculation that Weathers is due for a shift to the bullpen once the rotation returns to full strength, whether that was when Cole was gearing up to debut or with Fried’s speculated return. However, that may not be the only answer to the Yankees’ depth “problem.”
The idea of establishing a six-man rotation on Fried’s return was floated somewhat recently, and while it’s a topic that gets discussed semi-seriously every so often this may be the point where it’d have the most merit. Nearly every Yankee starter has reason to benefit from a little extra rest, between Cole’s arm easing its way back from Tommy John and Fried dealing with a bone bruise in his elbow for current injuries and Rodón having had bone spurs removed over the offseason. Even Schlittler, who is in his second season and has no major injuries nagging on him yet, could use the extra day to keep him fresh throughout the year as he’s on pace to easily eclipse his previous career-high in innings pitched. The Yankees have preached caution with their approach to handling their starters this year, and they exercised a bit of that in pushing Cole back an extra day even if the results didn’t go their way this time. The bullpen has more arms that can go beyond an inning than they’ve usually held, and Carlos Lagrange is gearing up to contribute further on that front should he get a callup in the coming weeks. If ever there was a time to seriously deploy a full-time six-man rotation, it might just be this season.
Before the Yankees get back to it hoping to break their little losing streak, we’ve got plenty to go over on the site. Michael starts us off with a look at what went down in the minors last week, and then Andrew has the Rivalry Roundup with the Rays thankfully not capitalizing on the Yankees’ defeat. Jeremy honors a fan favorite in Hensley Meulens on his birthday, Jonathan discusses the legacy of Carlos Rodón’s Yankees tenure thus far, and later in the day Peter breaks down Ryan Weathers’ sinker and how it could solve his home run issues.
Today’s Matchup
New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers
Time: 6:40 p.m. EST
TV: YES Network, Detroit SportsNet
Venue: Comerica Park, Detroit, MI
