Yankees shuffle roster with multiple moves after Gerrit Cole decision

Saturday featured a game to forget for the Yankees. They were blown out by the Reds, and some ugly defense was the main reason why. It's not the end of the world. Just win tomorrow with Gerrit Cole on the mound. Oh wait ...

Cole was Sunday's scheduled starter, but the Yankees made a switch on Saturday evening. The veteran right-hander will be given an extra day of rest and pitch Monday against the Detroit Tigers with prospect Elmer Rodriguez coming up from Scranton to face Cincinnati in the series finale.

That meant somebody needed to be optioned, and reliever Jake Bird was the casualty. The right-hander finally put together back-to-back scoreless, full-inning outings on June 19-20, which was the first time he's done that since the beginning of May.

But overall he hasn't been great and the Yankees have needed a bullpen solution. Rodriguez won't exactly be that, but a six-man rotation is one way to prevent the bottom of the relief corps from faltering as frequently.

Additionally, Austin Wells is ready to return. Just like the Yankees did two weeks ago during the Red Sox series, they've optioned JC Escarra to Triple-A again. New York will roll with Wells and Ali Sanchez, who has surprisingly been a breath of fresh air hitting from the right side of the plate.

Should Yankees continue with six-man rotation after Gerrit Cole decision?

These moves undoubtedly improve the active roster, and the Escarra situation is no secret. The Yankees can't keep carrying two lefty catchers and it's clear they favor Wells. They should probably find another righty slugger at the trade deadline, but they might as well wait and see how Sanchez does for the next month or so.

As for the rotation, is a six-man group the move? Maybe not for the entirety of the 2026 campaign, but it seems smart for two-week stretches. It gives rest to guys like Cole and Carlos Rodón coming off major surgery and it helps manage the inning limits for youngsters Cam Schlittler and Will Warren (as well as the oft-injured Ryan Weathers). It'll also be helpful for Max Fried when he comes back since he's dealing with an elbow issue.

This would preserve the rotation for the postseason and give the Yankees a shot at carrying a number of elite, fresh arms into October. You know how everybody jokes about the Dodgers putting a bunch of their top starters on the IL so they can save them for the playoffs? Yeah ... it's kind of not a joke. You need your top arms to be managed properly.

Then when you go after Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline? The sky's the limit. Nobody will be able to touch this staff, and the offense will just have to consistently put pressure on the opposition.

We'll get more into that as we approach August, but the Yankees appear to be doing some shrewd housekeeping as they sit 17 games above .500. The season's a marathon, not a sprint.

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