The Yankees may be temporarily shifting to a four-man rotation.
A June filled with days off could allow the Yankees to only rely upon Gerrit Cole, Domingo German, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Severino, pitching on normal rest until June 24.
Those four are the only healthy starting pitchers for the Yankees, who have a scheduled day off every Monday of the month and also will not play next Thursday.
The scheduling quirk might be coming at an opportune time for a starting five that just lost Nestor Cortes (left rotator cuff strain) and still is minus Carlos Rodon (back stiffness and a forearm strain).
Not carrying a fifth starter allowed the Yankees to summon lefty Matt Krook on Thursday, when Cortes was officially placed on the 15-day injured list.
“We could always slot somebody in or do what we have to do, but obviously with the off days, it gives us some flexibility there,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees won Game 2 to earn a doubleheader split against the White Sox.
Luis Severino, who struggled for a second consecutive start, may be a part of a four-man Yankees rotation in the next couple of weeks.Robert Sabo for NY PostRandy Vasquez started the second game of the doubleheader and was excellent through 5 ²/₃ scoreless innings.
The young righty had been tapped as the 27th man, however, and was sent back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre afterward.
“Between him and Jhony [Brito], they’ve shown us enough that we know we can go down there in a spot — … they’re capable of coming up here and having success,” Boone said.
“The fact that Randy’s had one outing where he pitched pretty well against the Padres and tonight, where he’s really good, is only going to bolster his confidence and hopefully bolster his development.”
Rodon, who pitched to batters for the first time Wednesday since his back began ailing, will throw two more live sessions, Boone said, likely Sunday and next Thursday.
Without any setbacks, a rehab assignment would be the next step.
Righty reliever Ian Hamilton (right groin strain) threw a side session Wednesday and is “close” to a rehab assignment, Boone said.
Hamilton will either throw another side session or a live batting practice next.
The Yankees donated $10,000 to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in honor of Liam Hendriks beating cancer. Hendriks matched the $10,000 donation to the hospital.
Hendriks, the White Sox’s closer, won a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
He, Boone and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman posed for photos with a check before the first game.
