Gerrit Cole won't pitch against Mets in exhibition game
Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole stands on the mound with his cap off during an intrasquad game in summer training camp on Sunday at Yankee Stadium. Credit: AP/Kathy Willens
The Mets won’t be getting their first look at Yankees ace Gerrit Cole this weekend.
That will have to wait until the regular season.
The Yankees will play the first of their three exhibition games Saturday night at Citi Field, and Cole, who struck out nine in 5 2/3 innings in an intrasquad game at the Stadium on Sunday, could have pitched against the Mets on five days’ rest. Aaron Boone, however, said Cole will throw Friday in an intrasquad game — keeping him on his regular fifth day — which will allow him to have an extra day of rest before the July 23 season opener against the defending champion Nationals in Washington.
Boone said his decision was “a little strategic” in not having Cole face a team he likely will face in-season, but it was more about giving him the extra day before the opener.
“He and I talked a little bit about it today,” Boone said after Monday’s workout. “I think we just value having that sixth day going into his first start of the year, which will obviously be in Washington. We could have taken it now but felt like if we took it now, then it’d be rolling into his Opening Day start on the fifth day coming off of a time when maybe we’re trying to push him a little bit [on Friday].”
The Yankees will play the Mets on Sunday and the Phillies on Monday, both at the Stadium.
Tanaka latest
Boone said Masahiro Tanaka, who suffered a concussion July 4 when hit by Giancarlo Stanton’s 112-mph line drive during a simulated game, continues to improve, which has been the case since he was sent home from the hospital that night. Although he was not specific, the manager said he has “a potential throw date” from the mound for Tanaka, who has played catch at the Stadium almost daily for the last week.
“He continues to respond the right way with the added workload, so [we’re] encouraged,’’ Boone said, “but again, just also making sure we go slow and smartly with it.”
Gleyber good with Wade
Second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who tested positive for COVID-19 just before camp began, is questionable for the July 23 opener. If he is not able to play, Tyler Wade is likely to get the nod at second, and shortstop Gleyber Torres said he’ll have no difficulties adjusting to Wade.
“One-hundred percent comfortable,” Torres said of Wade as his double-play partner. “[I] played with him in the minor leagues [in Triple-A]. We have really good communication on double plays. We feel really comfortable [with each other].”
Don’t sleep on Florial
Though outfield prospect Estevan Florial, 22, hasn’t played above high Class A Tampa, Boone has not ruled out the possibility that he will help the big-league club in 2020.
“If there’s one thing 2020 and this virus have shown us, [it’s] you’ve got to be adjustable in your plans,” Boone said of Florial, a top-notch athlete with a strong throwing arm whose work ethic has impressed the organization since he joined it in 2015. “He’s here with the thought that if something happens, he’s very much in the mix.”
A series of injuries and continued lack of plate discipline have combined to dim Florial’s star the last couple of years in terms of the prospect rankings.
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.
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