After three straight days off, Aaron Boone juggles Yankees' rotation
Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino throws during the first inning of a game against the Royals on May 1 in Kansas City, Mo. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel
The Yankees’ three consecutive days off this past week — only one of which was scheduled — caused some pitching rotation complications for manager Aaron Boone.
Before they returned to action against the Rangers for a doubleheader on Sunday after an off day followed by two days of rain, Boone sketched out his plans for reporters.
The Yankees had gone through five turns of the rotation with the same order of starting pitchers, but after ace Gerrit Cole and No. 3 starter Jordan Montgomery pitched Sunday, fifth starter Nestor Cortes is scheduled to face the Rangers on Monday in a makeup of Saturday’s rainout. No. 2 starter Luis Severino and fourth starter Jameson Taillon will face the Blue Jays on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Boone said he liked the idea of having two righties face Toronto, and he also wants to give Severino extra days between starts sometimes.
That leaves the first game in Chicago against the White Sox on Thursday as a TBD, which Boone said likely will involve a call-up starter.
With outfielder Tim Locastro going on the 10-day injured list with a left latissimus dorsi strain on Sunday, Boone said the Yankees probably will go with a short bench and an extra pitcher for the next two weeks. Before Game 1 Sunday, the Yankees called up pitcher Ron Marinaccio and appointed Estevan Florial as their “27th man.”
Locastro, who has become an elite pinch runner, was hurt on a slide last Monday night in Toronto. Boone said he is making good progress but that the Yankees will be careful with him to avoid having the problem worsen.
“He’s responded really well to it and been kind of remarkable and functional,” Boone said. “But it's also something just with the lat, we feel like if he plays and hurts it any more, it can turn into a surgical thing where we lose him for the season.”
Locastro himself said his goal is to return as soon as he is eligible to do so, and that he already has seen improvement in his condition.
“The goal is the 10-day minimum for me, personally,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes, but that’s my goal.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
More Yankees headlines
