Yankees: 3 in-game mistakes Aaron Boone can’t make for rest of season

2. Piggybacking Andrew Heaney Just … Because

Repeat after me: Just because Andrew Heaney’s starts have been replaced by Corey Kluber’s starts does not mean Heaney is legally required to enter from the bullpen after Kluber has departed.

There. Was that so hard?

Heaney seems to be a genuinely caring person who’s struggled with mental health issues in the past, and the Yankees are doing him no favors by forcing him into an unfamiliar role and demanding that he record key outs in the middle-to-late innings. That being said … how is he still here, being forced to shoulder an unfamiliar load? You never want to sacrifice pitching depth, but Heaney has limited ‘pen experience, has been lapped by names like Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt, and will soon be staring down the potential returns of Michael King, Luis Severino and Domingo German, all of whom are better suited to fill his spot.

In the interim, there is less than no reason for Gil to sit at Triple-A and increase his innings count rather than be Kluber’s designated backup. Considering the electric righty is supposedly starting Wednesday’s game to give Nestor Cortes Jr. and Co. an added breather during this extended stretch without off days, Schmidt could certainly fill the position the next time the opportunity arises.

Heaney gave Yankee fans one special start against the Red Sox, a few innings-eating outings against Seattle and Atlanta, and an overload of agita. At some point, the Yankees need to cut bait — and they definitely don’t need to keep robotically shoehorning him in from the bullpen.