Yankees discussed starting someone other than Gerrit Cole in ALDS Game 1

How seriously did the Yankees discuss starting someone not named Gerrit Cole in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Guardians?

“Seriously,” one organizational insider said Monday. “It was definitely discussed.”

Ultimately, the choice was Cole, who will face Cleveland righthander Cal Quantrill. The other two pitchers under consideration, Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino, are scheduled to pitch Games 2 and 3.

“It's always special, I think, any time somebody gets selected to lead the team into battle,” Cole said Monday of the Game 1 assignment. “And I think what comes with that responsibility is preparedness, poise and to be on the attack.”

The fact that the Yankees even thought about anyone other than their $324 million ace getting the nod in Game 1 of a playoff series was among the handful of fascinating storylines going into the best-of-five Division Series — perhaps the most fascinating.  

Certainly, the Yankees would have preferred to talk at length about anything but those discussions,  and they did on Sunday. A pitcher who already was a near-lock not to be on the postseason roster, Aroldis Chapman, gave them that opportunity by skipping Friday’s mandatory workout.  

Cole showed more than enough this season to earn the prestige of starting a playoff series. He went 13-8 with a 3.50 ERA in 33 starts and set a franchise single-season record for strikeouts with 257, breaking the previous mark of 248 set by Ron Guidry in 1978.

But that impressive 2022 resume came with a significant blemish, the reason for the in-depth back-and-forth among club hierarchy. Cole gave up a career-high — and American League-high — 33 homers in 200 2⁄3 innings, which caused its share of concern organizationally. Of the 81 runs he allowed, 55 (68%) scored as the result of home runs.

That, coupled with the terrific seasons produced by Cortes (12-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts) and Severino (7-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts, including his final regular-season start Oct. 3, when he threw seven no-hit innings against the Rangers), made the Yankees strongly consider other options.

“Really good season,” Aaron Boone said  in evaluating Cole’s 2022. “You know, obviously because it's Gerrit Cole and because he came here and signed a huge contract [nine years], and the ace of this staff . . . nothing will ever be necessarily good enough. But I think he's had a very strong year. The home run ball's hurt him a little bit to keep it from being, you know, I guess — probably going to keep him from winning the Cy Young and things like that.”

Boone added: “I feel like he's throwing the ball incredibly well. I feel like he has all year. I feel like his stuff has been really consistent. The long ball has been the thing that's kept it from being a Cy Young season, and there's no reason to think he can't go out there and dominate. Again, it comes down to execution. If he goes out and executes, we'll be in a good spot.”

Cole  generally has been an outstanding performer at this time of year, entering Tuesday 8-5 with a 2.93 ERA in 14 career postseason starts. Yankees fans, naturally, remember the most recent one — last Oct. 5 at Fenway Park, when he failed to get out of the third inning of a 6-2 loss to the Red  Sox in the  wild-card game.

“I haven't put much thought into legacy,” Cole said of excelling in October and its importance in how his career will be viewed. “All my focus is towards preparing to pitch well tomorrow.”

Though the Guardians are athletic, put the ball in play and can be pests on the basepaths, one thing they don’t do with regularity is hit home runs. Cleveland ranked 14th out of 15 teams in the AL in homers this season with only 127 (the Yankees doubled that, leading MLB with 254).

“It's more just making sure we are prepared. Making sure he's prepared as best he can, focused a lot on all the good that he's done this year, and even down the stretch,” Boone said of the club’s preparation with Cole going into Tuesday. “Obviously, avoiding the long ball has been a bugaboo. But there's nothing we are doing, like anything physically or prep-wise. We're leaning into how he's going to go attack Cleveland, and then it comes down to execution. And if he executes, nobody's better.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.