The Yankees are getting ready to welcome back a starter to the rotation while their young backstop may be out of the lineup for a few games.
Manager Aaron Boone spoke to the media ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Texas Rangers and delivered updates on a number of players.
Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil to rejoin Yankees this week
Boone informed the media that the young right-hander is on his way to Texas to rejoin the team and his next start will be with the Yankees.
Schmidt’s last start was with Double-A Somerset on Monday. He pitched 4.2 innings (70 pitches) and allowed two runs on three hits while striking out seven batters.
With the 28-year-old having just pitched, he’ll take the mound on Saturday with the plan to have Nestor Cortes piggyback off Luis Gil who will also return to the rotation on Friday or Schmidt.
Austin Wells may need a few games
Wells has been a revelation for the Yankees, especially hitting in the cleanup spot, but the young backstop is absent in Tuesday’s lineup. The decision is two-fold. With a lefty on the mound for the Rangers, it was a great opportunity to get Jose Trevino a game. But it also allows Wells to take a day off after taking a pitch off his hand in Monday’s game.
Boone said that Wells had X-rays were negative, but he is sore and that he may need a few days off but that has yet to be determined.
The Rangers will send right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to the mound tomorrow, which would mean Wells will be in the lineup but now that’s not a certainty any longer.
Gerrit Cole‘s non-issue
The Yankees ace was excellent in Monday’s win, pitching six innings of one-run ball while striking out nine but he was warming up to pitch the seventh when he had a calf issue. The Yankees said it was due to cramping and the right-hander told the media that it’s a non-issue.
He even joked that he may need to eat more bananas before starts.
The plan for Jon Berti
The Yankees announced that they had transferred Berti’s rehab assignment from Double-A to Triple-A but Boone went deeper into the team’s plans for the utility player.
Although Berti has played his rehab assignments in the infield, the plan is to have him play the infield on Tuesday before playing the outfield in Wednesday’s game followed by a day off on Thursday.
Berti will have the same play schedule over the weekend before “he’s probably in play about any time.”
The Yankees want to use Berti as a player who can slot in either the outfield or infield with Jazz Chisholm Jr. taking over the third base duties.
