With the addition of Sonny Gray and Jaime Garcia, the Yankees need to decide what to do with the rotation. The solution for this week? A six-man rotation. And that’s how they should keep it until October.
An abundance of reliable starting pitchers is something every team dreams of having. For managers, however, it can be difficult to decide how to utilize all of them.
Thus is the case for New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who announced that his club will use a six-man rotation this week.
Following New York’s shopping spree, young ace Sonny Gray and veteran southpaw Jaime Garcia joined Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, CC Sabathia and Jordan Montgomery. If the Yankees decide to return to a traditional five-man starting corps, Montgomery would likely be the odd man out.
But the team, just half a game behind Boston in the American League East, should give the idea a chance. New York has a deep enough pitching staff to experiment with the idea, and it could be a huge success.
Yankees are going to a six-man rotation this turn. Girardi's plan is Gray Thursday, Garcia Friday, Montgomery Sat, Severino Sun.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) August 1, 2017
In an ideal world, starting pitchers would contribute 200-plus innings for their clubs each season –at least that’s typically the gauge used.
Of the team’s six hurlers, just Sabathia and Gray have pitched that many innings in a single season. Gray has done it twice during his five-year career, while Sabathia has done it eight times. But Sabathia has had some sort of injury every year since 2014, so it could be a matter of time.
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A six-man rotation would allow Girardi to monitor his younger starters’ innings. Severino has accumulated just 266 career innings and Montgomery has tossed fewer than 120. As October looms, fatigue could settle in, so one extra day of rest could save each pitcher from suffering a late-season injury.
The same could be said for the players susceptible to getting hurt – ahem, Gray and Garcia. Garcia faced a myriad of injuries earlier in his career, especially with the St. Louis Cardinals. Now he’s been healthy for a year-and-a-half and has been somewhat effective throughout that stretch, despite a bloated ERA.
Gray faced several stints on the disabled list the previous two seasons, but has been healthy all year following a late season debut. His numbers have been noteworthy, especially in July, when he posted a 1.48 ERA across four starts.
If they Yankees want to make a deep postseason run, they need everyone in the rotation healthy. This idea could diminish the workload for them, keeping them fresh for October.
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And for a team that has a shutdown bullpen, boasting relievers like David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman, it could save them from elimination.