Luis Gil is the Yankees’ starter with the lowest ERA and Nestor Cortes has the highest.
What happens when Gerrit Cole is back in June or July? Who loses his spot if nobody gets hurt?
What do the Yankees do with Alex Verdugo next month when Jasson Dominguez is done rehabbing?
How will the Yankees handle second base, third base and their utility infielders when DJ LeMahieu finally starts his season?
Here is some of what the Yankees could be forced to address fairly soon with predictions:
RESTORING THE GLORY
ROTATION
Cole threw a third bullpen in eight days before Saturday’s game and is getting close to live BPs. After that he’ll work his way into rehab games, and then sometime from the middle of June or perhaps early July he could be off the IL and making his first start.
If Cole returns with the five starters that the Yankees have been using healthy, then someone will lose his spot.
Who?
Gil no longer is the obvious choice just because he’s been Cole’s fill in, he’s the least experienced, he can be wild and he can be optioned.
Gil throws the hardest and he might have the best stuff of the Yankees’ current five-man rotation. He’s also sporting a 2.58 ERA after his latest masterpiece, six shutout innings in Sunday’s 10-6 win over the Rays.
So keeping Gil in the rotation has to be a consideration if he keeps pitching like he has, right?
Maybe not even though you can argue that Gil might be more deserving than Cortes, who is 1-4 record and 4.02 ERA.
Gil is in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery after pitching four innings last year and not topping 50 since 2019 when he pitched a career-high 96. He’s already at 43. Averaging five innings for 30 starts adds up to 150.
There’s no way the Yankees will let Gil do that.
Prediction: Cortes keeps his rotation spot and Gil moves into a bullpen role and ends up with around 100 innings tops.
OUTFIELD
Dominquez will play his first game since his Tommy John surgery on Tuesday night in Tampa when he starts a 20-day rehab-assignment clock.
When it’s up on June 4, the Yankees will have to decide whether they want Dominguez back with them and starting in center with Aaron Judge in left and Juan Soto or right, or opt to stick with what’s worked well so far: Verdugo in left with Judge in the middle and Soto in right.
Optioning Dominguez is a possibility because the Yankees love what they’re getting from Verdugo, who has been a solid offensive contributor and good defender while bringing more energy to the dugout and clubhouse than anyone probably since Luke Voit.
Also, while Dominguez made a sensational first impression last September before his quick season-ending elbow injury, he has just 17 games of experience above Double-A, nine with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and eight with the Yankees.
Prediction: Verdugo keeps his job and Dominguez is optioned until coming up in September.
THIRD BASE
You’ve heard this before, but the Yankees are optimistic that LeMahieu’s fractured right foot finally has healed.
He faced live pitching on Saturday and came out of it well. He’ll do it again there early this week, then may be cleared to start playing rehab games. A week or so after that, LeMahieu might be off the IL and starting his season.
When that happens, the Yankees will have a deeper bench with Oswaldo Cabrera likely moving from starting at third to a utility role and Sunday’s feel-good story Jahmai Jones probably designated for assignment.
Of course, there is another option: Starting Cabrera at second half the time or more with Torres becoming a part-time player.
Prediction: LeMahieu starts at third, Torres keeps his spot and both are out of the lineup at least twice a week so that Cabrera and Jon Berti get semi-regular at-bats.
BULLPEN
Rehabbing reliever Tommy Kahnle pitched another 1-2-3 inning Saturday in Tampa after doing the same thing last Wednesday there. His third rehab outing will be Tuesday in Somerset, then he’s scheduled for three more.
And then the Yankees will get another veteran high-leverage arm in their bullpen, and if all of the other relievers stay healthy when it gets to that point, someone unfairly will lose his roster spot.
That happened last week when Ron Marinaccio was optioned with a 1.42 ERA in nine games for Nick Burdi, who came off the IL with a 0.00 ERA in seven.
Prediction: This one’s easy: Recent waiver claim Michael Tonkin will be DFA’d even though he still had a 0.00 ERA as a Yankee after 6 2/3 innings and five outings following his Saturday appearance.
BULLPEN 2
The Yankees could be getting another quality reliever back sometime this summer with the rehab going well for Scott Effross. The sidewinding righty is close to facing hitters in a live BP after missing all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery and being sidelined this year due to December back surgery.
It’s probable that new injuries to other relievers will crop up because Effross is ready come off the IL, but if not the Yankees will have to decide whether he’s better than what they already have.
Prediction: Dennis Santana is DFA’d and Effross joins the Yankees’ bullpen even though lefty Caleb Ferguson has been a disappointment after joining the club in winter trade with the Dodgers.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
