Yankees not trying to avoid Sonny Gray’s next start

Brian Cashman said the plan for now is for Sonny Gray to take his next scheduled turn in the rotation.

“Are we trying to avoid his next start?” the Yankees’ general manager said before Sunday night’s game. “The answer is no, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Gray was booed off the mound Saturday night after allowing six runs in 2 1⁄3 innings, including a first-inning grand slam by Rafael Devers, in an 11-0 loss to the Red Sox.

The righthander, Cashman’s big-ticket acquisition before last July’s trade deadline, fell to 5-6 with a 5.44 ERA this season. Most significant, in 27 starts as a Yankee, Gray is 9-13 with a 4.68 ERA.

For whatever reason, he has struggled to adjust to pitching for the Yankees, especially at the Stadium. He has an 8.25 ERA at home compared to 3.28 on the road this season.

“If I had the answer, he’d be fixed by now, to be honest,” Cashman said. “This is not an easy place to compete in . . . We’ll continue to walk that line with him because he’s capable of a lot. The stuff is there. We’ve seen it. That’s not in question. It’s just trying to get him in line as a Yankee.”

Cashman is continuing to try to add depth to his rotation, which has been a priority since the 2017 season ended.

“I’ve had GMs tell me, ‘If you give me what I want, I’ll do the deal right now,’ ” Cashman said with a smile. “But what they want, I don’t want to give ’em. I think teams are motivated if they get what they want. We’re all navigating that. I want to do business and match up in a proper way, but it’s not going to be at all costs.”

Tanaka progress

Cashman said Masahiro Tanaka, on the disabled list since June 9 with strains in both hamstrings, will make a rehab outing this week. If there are no setbacks, he could rejoin the Yankees in Baltimore, perhaps in time to start one of the games of next Monday’s doubleheader.