Yankees: 3 ways NYY can cope with Zack Britton’s extended absence

1. Go With a Six-Man Rotation

The Yankees could keep Deivi Garcia on board and go with a six-man rotation.

We don’t know what the Yankees are doing with their starting rotation, but Boone didn’t rule out a six-man staff to begin the year. And to be honest, that could be the best move.

Why? Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon have hardly pitched since the start of 2019. There’s no way they will be enduring a full workload in 2021. Domingo German hasn’t pitched since Sept. of 2019, so he’s kind of in the same boat. Jordan Montgomery was supposed to make his comeback from Tommy John surgery in 2020 but didn’t get a proper full slate to do so. None of those guys are built (at the moment) to handle a full 162-game slate.

But Gerrit Cole is! Have him go every fifth day, give Deivi Garcia a roster spot, and deploy the other arms as needed. After all, we’re probably looking at 120-150 innings each for Kluber and Taillon, which would allow for 20-ish starts for Montgomery, German and Garcia. Why not?!

This would put a lot less pressure on the bullpen in the interim while properly giving all of those starters the action and rest they need. Then, in the event another injury occurs, the pitching staff will be able to better cope with it.

Garcia, after all, showed us he was pretty ready in 2020. German looked awesome in his spring debut. Let them do their thing. It helps them. It helps Kluber, Taillon and Montgomery. It helps the bullpen.

Yankees: Who will replace Zack Britton in wake of elbow surgery news?

The New York Yankees announced that Zack Britton will undergo surgery to remove a bone spur from his left elbow after his MRI results came back.