Yankees rotation for second half 'in pencil,' according to Aaron Boone
NEW YORK — The most dominant baseball team across the first half of the 2022 season, the Yankees have an eye towards the second half of the season, beginning Thursday with a doubleheader in Houston. Things can change in the coming days, but manager Aaron Boone indicated on Saturday that the plan regarding the pitching rotation has been written down, at least figuratively.
"In pencil," Boone said before a long pause and a laugh. "We'll see. It'll probably be [Montgomery] and Taillon in the doubleheader in Houston and then we'll see."
Jordan Montgomery and Jameson Taillon beginning the second half would give at least another day before either of the two Yankees starters heading to the All-Star Game would have to throw a pitch. Nestor Cortes and Gerrit Cole will both represent the American League in the game on Tuesday and would be slated to start their second halves in Baltimore next weekend.
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That still leaves one starter up in the air for the Yankees to start the second half, a void felt after Luis Severino went to the injured list earlier this week. Boone indicated that the team is still awaiting opinions on Severino's low grade right lat strain. Indications from the team are that the plan for Severino is to not throw for two weeks. That might be all that is needed for Severino to return.
Domingo German in rotation or bullpen?
The wild card for the Yankees rotation vacancy is Domingo German, who had a strong rehab start Friday night for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and appears set to be activated after the All-Star break. German tossed six shutout innings for the RailRiders in a 9-0 win over Louisville, allowing three hits with one walk, one strikeout and a wild pitch. Boone indicated earlier in the week that it would be German's final rehab start if everything went well, but what role will German play when he makes his season debut with the Yankees? That's still unclear.
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"We'll see," said Boone. "Potentially, he could slide in to the rotation coming out of the break. He could be that long man [in the bullpen]. He had a really strong outing last night. I think he got up to 65 pitches. He should be north of that going forward."
All star, no break
Three other Yankees are heading to Los Angeles for the All-Star Game next week: outfield starters Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, as well as catcher Jose Trevino. While the rest of the team will have three off days before beginning the second half on Thursday in Houston, those three won't quite have the same experience.
"That's not necessarily going to be a few days off," said Boone. "It's going to be a little bit of a grind, even though it's the good kind of grind."
Boone is looking at various options, including giving Stanton a rest day tomorrow or having either Judge or Stanton split designated hitter duties for Thursday's doubleheader.
"I'll be strategic with how I use those guys in the doubleheader," said Boone.
Email: aitken@northjersey.com
Twitter: @robertaitkenjr
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Yankees rotation 'in pencil' for second half of 2022: Aaron Boone
