HOUSTON \u2014 With Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rod\u00f3n\u2019s rehab assignments underway, the Yankees\u2019 rotation could experience some overcrowding in the near future.<\/p>\n
Their returns are not imminent, as Rod\u00f3n, recovering from an offseason elbow cleanup procedure and some hamstring tightness, made the first of at least three rehab starts on Friday. Cole, meanwhile, is two starts into his assignment following Tommy John surgery. It\u2019s unclear how many more minor league starts he\u2019ll need, but he\u2019s not expected back until late-May or early-June.<\/p>\n
So there\u2019s plenty of time for another injury or poor performance to occur within a Yankees\u2019 rotation that currently consists of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers following Luis Gil\u2019s well-deserved demotion on Sunday<\/a>. But what happens if those first four starters are all healthy when Rod\u00f3n and\u00a0Cole are back?<\/p>\n With Gil already an odd man out, could the Yankees switch to a six-man rotation?<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we\u2019d have to have a conversation about it, but it\u2019s just difficult to do when you don\u2019t have the extra [reliever],\u201d pitching coach Matt Blake told the Daily News. \u201cIf you have eight relievers and you go down to seven relievers, it\u2019s just hard to execute that on a regular basis.<\/p>\n \u201cThe starters have to consistently give you length because seven relievers is just a tricky dynamic. It just takes one blow-up to hurt the pen.\u201d<\/p>\n Blake said the Yankees have considered a six-man rotation in the past, but they haven\u2019t stuck with one for any extended stretch for the reasons he mentioned above.<\/p>\n With that in mind, Blake thinks Weathers and Warren have stuff that could play up in the bullpen should the Yankees\u2019 run of good health continue. He also mentioned Gil along those lines, but that was before the righty was demoted, and it\u2019s hard to see him being an effective reliever given his extended issues with command and velocity.<\/p>\n