The Yankees have instituted a six-man starting rotation … for just this week, Joe Girardi insisted Tuesday.
Maybe, however, this can be like one of those deals where you get free access to a streaming service and they eventually start billing you when you forget to cancel it.
Because these Yankees, as they try to capture their first American League East title since 2012, will be best served with a six-man rotation as long as all six of their current options remain healthy. Actually, going with six represents the Yankees’ optimal likelihood of keeping all six guys, not a one of whom lacks concern about either health or innings limits, active and productive.
“In theory, it sounds great,” Girardi said before the Yankees fell short in a 4-3 loss to the Tigers at Yankee Stadium, falling into second place in the AL East (although still a game ahead in the loss column) when the Red Sox walked off the Indians at Fenway Park. “But now you have six relievers and six starters and you get rid of one of your relievers that gives you distance, it puts you in a bind.
“If the commissioner would let me add another man on the roster and have 26, I would really think about it. But I called and he said no.”
(Disclaimer: Girardi didn’t actually call Rob Manfred. Just like the late Bruno Kirby’s character in “Good Morning, Vietnam,” comedy is kind of a hobby of Girardi’s.)
If I may be so bold, I think the Yankees’ roster can pull off the six-man rotation and even benefit from it.
First of all, the Yankees are currently carrying 13 pitchers, not 12, giving them seven relievers and 12 position players, with a bench of three (on most nights, Jacoby Ellsbury, Austin Romine and either Ronald Torreyes or Tyler Wade). If Aaron Hicks returns from the disabled list next week and everyone remains intact, the Yankees can nudge Jacoby Ellsbury or Matt Holliday to the disabled list — or, far less desirably, Clint Frazier can be optioned to the minor leagues — until September, when rosters expand to 40.
Then we get to the pitchers themselves. Sabathia and Tanaka work at a regular level of, let’s say, DEFCON 3, given Sabathia’s age (37) and the slightly torn UCL in Tanaka’s right elbow. Gray came to the Yankees at such a reasonable price because of his recent injury history. Garcia dealt with the dangerous thoracic outlet syndrome (just ask Matt Harvey) in 2014. And Severino, 23, and Montgomery, 24, face innings limits and common-sense limitations; Girardi decided to utilize six guys this time around in order to give Severino another day after his 116-pitch effort in Monday’s victory.
That Montgomery’s cap probably stands in the 170-innings neighborhood (he’s at 110 ²/₃) to Severino’s at 200-ish (he’s at 132 ²/₃), not to mention Severino’s superior performance, makes Montgomery the obvious candidate to shift to the bullpen next week and become a long reliever. It’s true, too, that the Yankees’ bullpen currently doesn’t feature the traditional “long reliever” who can step into an emergency situation and provide serious length.
Chad Green, Chasen Shreve and Adam Warren probably are conditioned to provide the most distance.
Yet the six-man setup would allow Girardi to go to one of his starters in such an emergency and rejigger the rotation accordingly. And we’re talking about a month of action before Girardi — who also mentioned the comfort guys have in a traditional five-man rotation — could load up his bullpen.
The Yankees introduced their two new guys Tuesday. Both sound agreeable.
“I really don’t think about those things,” said Garcia, who will make his Yankees debut Friday in Cleveland.
“It’s part of being in the big leagues,” Gray said. “You have to be flexible.”
After the game, Sabathia, who will get six days’ rest before starting Aug. 8 in Toronto, said, “At my age now, I’ll take the rest.”
Flexibility and rest will get the Yankees to where they want to be. They need only to forget to cancel their six-pack order.