Via Joel Sherman, the Yankees had planned to send Ivan Nova back to Triple-A Scranton following Thursday’s start against the White Sox, but he pitched so well that they just couldn’t do it. “It is hard to send out a guy who strikes out 10 and walks none,” said Brian Cashman.
Larry Rothschild called the current rotation situation a “crossword puzzle,” and indicated that the Yankees could use their starting surplus to give Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia extra rest down the stretch. Not just a few days, but skip them entirely once in a while. The Yankees begin a stretch of 30 games in 30 days on Tuesday (one day off, one doubleheader), so they won’t have any extra off days they can use to rest their starters. Either way, it’s been made clear that no one in the rotation will be shifted to the bullpen.