Yankees: Aaron Boone’s comments on Deivi Garcia leave door open for 6-man rotation

Despite many roster predictions and what fans may think, the New York Yankees still have a number of questions surrounding their pitching staff.

Who will take Zack Britton’s place on the Opening Day roster? Will the Bombers carry a three-man bench and go with an extra pitcher? Who’s going to be the No. 5 starter? What about a six-man rotation?

Manager Aaron Boone shed some light on all of those with his commentary after Sunday’s game.

Deivi Garcia got the ball against the Blue Jays and once again delivered a nice performance. He tossed three innings, allowed one run (unearned) on one hit and two walks, and struck out two. In totality, he’s pitched eight innings with his only blemish being those two home runs against the Phillies. He’s struck out 10 and owns a 0.88 WHIP.

That’s pretty much neck-and-neck with Domingo German — the other pitcher he’s competing with for the final spot in the rotation. German has tossed five scoreless innings in his two starts, giving up just two hits while striking out seven.

His next outing could tip the scales in the race.

But perhaps more importantly is Boone’s say on the matter. After the game, he was asked about the battle for the No. 5 job in the rotation, and he was as forthcoming as can be.

It’s very much still an active race. The Yankees are going to need both German and Garcia in some capacity in 2021 given the need for pitching and the length of the season coming off last year’s shortened campaign. And they’re both pretty good.

He’d rely on them in important outings if it were up to him, which, we have to say, doesn’t entirely rule out the Yankees going with a six-man staff to start 2021.

Yup, we know, we’ve been advocating for this in more ways than one, but what’s the team to do if Garcia and German continue to impress the coaches? Bringing two very capable arms aboard for Opening Day would allow the Yanks to properly space out everyone else (with the exception of Cole) since there are injury/longevity concerns every step of the way after their ace.

And it’s not like this is anything new. The Yankees have employed a six-man rotation over the last few years at times when they’ve needed to stretch things out, but the evidence is all laid out in front of everyone in the case of 2021. So if German and Garcia are battling it out to the very end, don’t be shocked if this is what New York decides to go with come April 1.

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