ARLINGTON — With Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt ready to return, the Yankees announced their rotation plans for their upcoming series against the Cubs.
Gil, recovered from a lower back strain, will take the ball on Friday at Wrigley Field. Schmidt, sidelined by a lat injury, will start on Saturday. Gerrit Cole, in the clear after suffering a right calf cramp on Monday, will pitch the series finale on Sunday.
With Gil and Schmidt rejoining the rotation, Nestor Cortes will piggyback for one of the two in relief.
“I think it just lines up the best way that way,” Aaron Boone said Tuesday, adding that he didn’t want to push too many starters back with an off coming on Thursday.
While Cortes could come out of the bullpen in either of the first two Cubs games, Boone noted that piggybacking off of Schmidt makes the most sense after the righty only threw 70 pitches in his final rehab start on Monday.
Boone also wanted to make it clear that Cortes is not being permanently booted from the starting staff.
“Nestor will go back into the rotation in [next week’s] Boston series, and coming out of that we’ll go six-[man rotation] that first time, assuming everything’s fine and good,” the manager said. “And then at some point, hopefully we’ll have a decision to make because a lot of people are posting and doing well.”
Boone noted that Cortes handled the decision to have him piggyback professionally and that he’s still competing for a rotation job.
“He wants to start, but he also wants to win,” Boone said. “So he’ll be a pro, and he’s not out of the mix as a starter moving forward.”
With Carlos Rodón and Marcus Stroman also part of the equation, the Yankees will have six healthy starters barring another injury. While the team plans to use a six-man rotation once, Boone is going to have to make a difficult choice eventually.
Cortes still has time to make his case, but he could become the odd man out. While Rodón’s 4.31 ERA entering his Tuesday start against the Rangers was the worst on the staff, Cortes’ 4.08 mark was the second-highest.
It’s hard to see the Yankees sticking Rodón’s $27 million salary in the bullpen, and Cortes has experience there. He’s also been inconsistent all season and could be useful as a left-handed reliever who can offer a different look.
Schmidt is another starter with bullpen experience, and there’s been speculation about Gil ending up there all season.
Asked how the Yankees will ultimately decide who gets removed from the rotation, Boone said performance won’t be the only factor.
“I wouldn’t say strictly results,” he said. “I mean, a lot of it would come down to results, fit, opponent, that kind of thing.”
COLE’S SNACK SWITCH
Those who follow the Yankees closely know that Cole is big on bananas, but he noshed on something else before cramping up on Monday: three servings of applesauce.
“It’s not the same,” Cole said Tuesday, comparing the two snacks.
Fortunately for Cole and the Yankees, he described his calf cramp as a non-issue.
WELLS FEELING SORE
Boone said that Austin Wells was “pretty sore” on Tuesday after taking a pitch to his right hand/wrist in Monday’s game. However, X-rays came back clean.
Boone hoped to have the catcher back as an option on Wednesday, but Wells may need a few days.